[Jesus told His disciples,] "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

Do you think we should argue who goes last and not first? Should we strive not to be in the lime light, but to place others in the lime light? What would the world be like if we did not continually toot our own horn, but allowed another’s to be heard?

Paul writes to the Thessalonians

...warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
(I Thess. 5:14-18)

Why is it that we try so hard to follow God’s will for our lives, we work to spread His word to those who have not heard it and yet we struggle when it comes to encouraging the timid? When they do speak up, we are so busy blowing our own horn that we forget God’s command and we do not listen. We forget He has told us that to be first, we must be last. In telling us this, He is explaining how we can help others find their role in God’s service. God wants us to help others gain confidence. He is asking us to encourage the timid.

Do you encourage the timid?

Paul tells us to encourage others and then he tells us to pray and not only pray, but to do it continually. He does not only ask us to pray continually, but to be joyful always and to be thankful in our giving. Could it be that he is telling us to be joyful as we give others the opportunity to lead, to make choices, to speak out as we decide to be last, as we choose to serve?

However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."

What would you like most? God has planned something even better for you! What are you working towards? God is working towards something better. Have you ever considered that?

It is like when we are young and we think the best thing in the world would be sparkly red shoes; but we age some and our perception of things change and we decide it would be a bike with red streamers on the handle bars; then, we grow some more, and decide a nice red car is it. Do we know what we really want? Maybe we just think we do.

God, however, does know. He knows what we want, what we desire and what we need. He knows what really will make us happy and what will leave us feeling discontented. You see, we cannot imagine life ahead of this moment, not really. Oh, we think we can. We pretend we can. But it is just like wanting those red shoes.

It is such a blessing to have a Father that knows us, that knows our tomorrows and knows how we can ultimately be happy. It is not red shoes or streamers or even a red car. It is the blood of Christ flowing over us to cleanse us and make us whole.

What would I like most? Well, I just want God to give me what He has planned for me.

How about you?

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

How well are you building your house? The foundation has been laid; it is up to you to build. Are you taking the fast approach or are you taking the time to learn how God wants it to be?

It is similar to a child’s story we tell our kids, about the mean old wolf who huffed, puffed, and could blow houses down. Do you remember?

The first little pig was in a hurry, so he did not waste time in studying or preparing, or even in the construction. He just threw up a quick house of sticks. When the hard times came, disguised as a wolf, it did not take long to blow it down.

The next little pig, though, was a little smarter and took a little more time, but did not take enough time to study what building houses was all about. He put his house up using sticks. However, in the end, the wolf was able to blow his house down as well.

The third little pig was laughed at for taking so long, for being so meticulous about what he was doing. He built a house following the plans laid out. His house withstood the huffing and the blowing. He was safe from the wolf, secure in God’s grasp. Oh, the winds did blow. The windows did rattle. The door might even have shaken a bit. In the end, though, the wolf could not blow the house down, so he left.

What kind of house are you building?