any less

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.    John 15:18-20

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 healthy, happy children

and plump, giggling grandchildren,

your body free from pain,

not twisted and grotesque

from diseases like aids and cancer

because you have health insurance and can afford

the best medical treatment available

with all the specialists and tests

money can buy;

yes, it is easy then;

not so easy

when you go through life

worried about feeding your children,

providing a shelter over their heads,

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

not knowing if it is serious or not

because you have no health insurance to get it tested,

praying for the strength

to make it 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

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

in spite of being the King

to whom everything belongs,

that He endured humiliation and torment

without ever once 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 that should be followed,

proving that He loves us all without favor,

even those who drive brand new F-350s

with ‘I Love Jesus’ front license plates;

He asks me;

“Is the servant greater than the master?”

making me quietly and humbly think;

‘should I do any less?’

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