Any Less

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

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.   John 13:12-17

it’s easy to love Jesus,

when you drive a brand new F-350 diesel,

while vacationing for the winter

in Gulf Shores, Alabama,

in your 100 thousand dollar RV,

taking charter bus trips to Biloxi,

for a night at the casinos;

easy, when you live in middle-class America,

surrounded by all your healthy, happy children,

and plump, giggling grandchildren,

with your body free from pain,

not twisted and grotesque,

by diseases like aids and cancer,

not panting and short of breath,

from clogged arteries to the heart,

because you have health insurance,

and can afford the best medical treatment available,

with all the specialists and bypass surgeries

money can buy;

yes, it is easy then;

not so easy,

when you go through life worried and afraid,

worried about feeding your children,

worried about providing a shelter over their heads,

worried about the lump growing on your child’s arm,

unable to get it tested,

because you have no health insurance,

praying for the strength to get through one more day,

as you go to your low paying job,

where America’s elite treat you like a hired servant,

because they have money and drive diesel powered F-350s,

with ‘I Love Jesus’ on the front license plate,

and you don’t;

some day we will all be the same,

standing before a holy and righteous God,

I wonder how they will answer then,

when they see themselves speaking with

derision and disgust,

to the person working for minimum wage,

because their cheese was sliced

a millimeter thicker than requested,

or because they had to wait more than

5 minutes in the checkout line,

I wonder who will be blessed then,

I wonder if their diesel powered F-350s,

with the ‘I Love Jesus’ front license plates,

will mean anything then;

then He speaks to me;

reminding me that He walked this earth

with nothing,

despite being the King to whom

everything belongs,

that He endured humiliation and torment,

without complaining or hating,

that even though He was the greatest,

He became the servant of many,

laying down His life for all,

paying a cost only He could pay,

doing the will of the Father,

despite the suffering and pain,

giving us the example to be followed,

proving that He loves us all,

unconditionally and without favor,

even those who drive brand new F-350s,

with ‘I Love Jesus’ front license plates;

and He asks me;

“Is the servant greater than the master?”

as I quietly (and humbly) think to myself,

should I do any less?

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