Running for Last Place

Mark 9:30-37:

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Blog:

‘[Jesus] said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”’  As Parents, many of us know first-hand what an Honor and a Blessing it is from God to be Gifted a Child.  As Children ourselves, many of us know first-hand what an incredible opportunity this world is for us to grow in the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, in this world, we’re constantly being told that we should be striving for first place; often at any and all costs.  To some, if you’re not first, you’re last.  But, that’s exactly where Jesus wants us per the world’s standards – in last place.  He wants us to return to the Faith of our childhoods and eventually back to the Womb of where we actually came from – Heaven.  The horror of abortion and the estimates of 1.7 billion babies murdered over the past 50 years or so (and those are just the reported estimates) leave most of us stunned and sickened.  Not only are those Children Gifts from God, but the Purity with which each of them is born is our Target Goal in this life.  How can we harm them and cancel God’s Plans for their now unfulfilled lives?  Babies are not meant to be used to keep other people alive and fed – as is happening in the pharmaceutical and medical industries, as well as in the food industries and beyond (yes, even Food Companies sometimes test their products on fetal cell lines and worse)…  Again, babies are Gifts and they are the End Goal (from a Faith perspective) and God Calls us to not only welcome them into this world with open arms and love, but we, ourselves, are to work hard through Faith and the intercession of the Holy Spirit to live as much as possible in a State of Grace just like a newborn Child.  So, as the world continues to butcher tubs full of babies creating new revenue streams to continue to strive towards a worldy first place, let’s stand-up for the least of these (Matthew 25:40); whatever the cost.  That’s what the Apostles, Disciples, Martyrs, Saints, and millions of others have done in order for us to able to have our own Faiths and freedoms in this world – and, it’s exactly what Jesus did for us all on the Cross.  For He put His Own Royalty in last place for us and it’s only through His Blood that we have been Redeemed.