They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. -Mark 9:30-41*
The word “welcome” that Jesus uses in this passage means to receive or accept. How can you welcome the “little children?” Well, in one sense you already have. You’ve built an amazing building for the children and youth. In that building, they are “receiving” Jesus on a regular basis. You also support our largest ministry,
So why do we as adults have to argue, just like the disciples, over who is the greatest? If we make this much money we’ll be better than our neighbor, if we drive this car, own this house. Let’s take it a step closer. If we tithe this much, we have a large say in how things are done around here. Is that what Jesus wants? No. We must have the attitude of a servant, just like Jesus did. When He walked this earth, He didn’t pull out his title when he wanted something. He came in the form of a servant and asks us to do the same. That is how we “welcome” Jesus. During this Lenton season, as you reflect on the passion of our Lord, are you truly “welcoming” Jesus in every aspect of your life?
Dana Van Steenbergen is Director of Youth/Children's Fine Arts, and serves on the Education and Worship Teams. She also sings as part of the Praise Team on a rotating basis. Dana teaches music at CCA.
How has Jesus made a difference in your life? "In my heart, if something is wrong he tells me what to do." -Carson Hudspeth, 6th grade
*Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
