As promised, I'm making time in the midst of an extremely hectic couple of weeks to revisit some ideas from the As He Leads Us project.
Kyle and I teach Sunday School in the class for adults in their twenties and early-ish thirties at our church. A few weeks back, the lesson drew from Mark 9:33-37 an focused on the servanthood aspect of a relationship with Christ. There were a few paragraphs from the teacher's material that spoke so clearly and plainly to the philosophy of our book, that I couldn't help but to share them here.
The writer of the material (Matt Carter of Austin Stone Community Church) said:
Jesus continued His teaching and correcting of the apostles with an object lesson. He took a child into His arms and called attention to the child. The child, symbolically uncorrupted, helpless, and defenseless, represented what it was like to serve the least. Perhaps it was surprising to see Jesus, the disciples' leader, holding a child in His arms . . . Jesus, the greatest of all, placed Himself on the same level as a little child. He said that whoever welcomes a child in His name welcomes Christ.
Matt goes on to explore the idea of "welcoming a child in Christ's name," and that the intent of the Greek word here implies "to be concerned about, to care for, to show kindness to." He continues:
Children who have no ability to care for themselves need someone to care for their needs. They need a servant. Sometimes they stretch the patience of the one serving them. They can be unresponsive, unappreciative, or unable to help them in return. However, serving them as Jesus would do (in His name), reminds us how Christ served us when we were lost in sin and without hope for salvation.
Glory! YES! I was thrilled to read Matt's insight on this passage and this teaching. The sentiment he expresses here lines up so completely with what Laura and I are proposing in this book that the similarity is uncanny.
I'll share one final thought from Matt that has sunk into my mind and challenged me in so many ways since I read it:
Those who do not welcome children do not welcome Jesus . . .To deny service to a child is a rejection of the kind of spirit Christ requires to enter the kingdom.
Wow. My girls have grown past the babe-at-the-breast, up-at-night, all-consuming, all-day-all-night complete dependence on mama stage, but little ones that they are, they still need my loving service. How often am I resentful about all the bottom wiping and sippy cup fixing and crustless sandwich making that mark the days of this current season?
Something that God is bringing to mind for me again and again is how much of my day is spent serving the Kingdom of Megan rather than the Kingdom of God. And sometimes serving in His Kingdom involves some story reading and some art project-ing and some slow walks on a cool day while I continue to mother and nurture and teach these little girls I am humbled to have been entrusted to raise.
I would love to hear your response to this!
