The Stars in God’s Show!
Not many aspire
to be slaves these days. Nobody wants to be a nobody. Everybody wants to be a
“somebody.” Millions aspire to become legends in their own time, but have to
settle for being legends only in their own minds! Hollywood has a “Walk of
Fame.” It is comprised of more than 2,500
five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along
fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and 3 blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood,
. Wikipedia.com says the stars are “public monuments to achievement in the
entertainment industry.” They bear the names of a mix of actors, musicians,
directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, etc. It is a very popular
tourist destination, attracting about 10 million visitors annually. If you are
going to be in Hollywood’s show, you have to be a star!
But wait a
minute – God has a show, too! Jesus often referred to it as the “kingdom of
heaven” and in the overwhelming number of passages where He used that phrase,
it is a reference to the church, also described in the New Testament as “the
body of Christ” – the people over whom Christ reigns as Lord and through whom
He accomplishes His work in the world (see Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians
12:12ff; Romans 12:3ff; Colossians 1:18, etc.). Concerning the church as God’s
agent for carrying out His work in the world, the late Brother G. P. Holt
nailed this statement permanently in my heart and mind in a sermon more than 35
years ago – hear this now – “YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A STAR TO BE IN GOD’S SHOW!”
Really, you don’t! What you do have to be to be in God’s
show, as it turns out, is a slave! That’s right – a slave. Not a partner with
God, a consultant with Christ, or a co-owner in “God’s Kingdom, Inc.” No. The
only position available for those who desire to be in God’s show is slave!
Don’t believe it? Take a Bible and read Matthew 20:20-28. The mother of the
apostles James and John came and asked Jesus to make her boys “stars” in His
kingdom by granting that “these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right
hand and the other on Your left, in Your kingdom” (vs 21). But the desire to
star in the kingdom apparently burned in all the apostles, and so in verses
25-28 Jesus called all of them and challenged their thinking about
greatness in simple and blunt words – "You know that the rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over
them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great
among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you,
let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but
to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Amazing! No censure from Jesus on the desire to be
somebody, to find significance, to be a success. No squelching our desire to be
great. But, as is the case in many areas of
life, Jesus seeks to radically re-define and re-direct our thinking about what makes a person great in
God’s sight.
God has His own “walk of fame.” But Jesus makes clear
high achievers and stars in God’s church are those who serve, not those who
grab for glory and praise from people. Are you starring in God’s show, or your
own?
--by Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
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