Mark 9:35 - Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

In this small glimpse of Jesus teaching directly to the disciples we see Him correcting a trap that we can all feel pulled to at times. The disciples, who had been with Jesus for some time and had seen all the things he could do, were arguing over who was the greatest among them. Up to this point in the book of Mark, Jesus has done some pretty big stuff: He’s healed people, taught large crowds, calmed a storm, cast out demons, raised a dead girl, fed thousands with a little bread and fish, restored hearing and sight to separate people, and we’re only a few chapters in.

The question of who is the greatest among this group should be pretty obvious. It’s Jesus. Now, they might have been arguing for second place, but it shouldn’t matter with Jesus so far out in front, second place may as well be no place at all.

Instead of telling the disciples that who is greatest is a dumb argument to have (it is), He sits them down and tries to help them get their priorities straight. When we aim to be greater than the people we are around, we can lose sight of the help we should be providing. In the eyes of God, we are all the same: sinners in need of a savior.

As a church Restore would not exist, or at the very least Sunday morning would be a disaster, if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of our servant-hearted volunteers. I can only imagine the horror some of us would feel to walk in on a Sunday morning and learn that there is no coffee, or that we’re going to need to sing acapella, or that no one is going to watch your kids during service. Thankfully, we have amazing people who help make every week a success. And they don’t do it for the glory, they do it out of the love they have for the family of Restore.

If you serve, thank you so much for your willingness to come early, or stay late, or work with kids, or cook, or clean, or any of the myriad things that keep a church running. And if you don’t, maybe you could start. There are a number of low-pressure, low-commitment volunteer opportunities if you’re ready to dip your toe in the water of service.

No matter what, if you see someone serving, say thanks because service is what we are called to do.