“The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Luke 22:26 (NIV)
This gets us into the issue of birth order, and that in every family there is some sort of a pecking order.
Most siblings would agree that the youngest had an easier time than everybody else. And in our culture, it often is the case that the youngest is the one who gets the easiest ride.
Many years ago if there was a meal in the church hall, the rule was simple: Adults go first, and then the kids can polish off the rest (in some cultures this is still true). But these days the kids go first, polish off the lot, and the adults go home hungry.
We often pay the greatest attention to the youngest. But, of course, among the kids themselves nothing much has changed. If you are the youngest, you know that you are in for a hard time from your siblings: “Do this. Get that for me.”
The youngest ends up in the position of doing what the older brother or sister wants done. And Jesus says that’s where true greatness begins. True greatness in the kingdom of God is not about having power and gaining recognition. Positions held matter much less than service rendered.
This is good news, because it opens the opportunity of true greatness to every person. Most of us will never have power, position, or recognition, but all of us have the ability to serve.
React to Jesus’ words: “The greatest among you should be like the youngest.”