First or Last?

There are phrases and ideas that have worked their way into common discourse. "A bird in the hand" or "when in Rome" are two that come to mind. But as I read through the book of Mark a few nights ago, I came across another common phrase: "The last shall be first, and the first shall be last."

This phrase appears not only in Mark 10:31 (where it is actually phrased "But many who are first will be last, and the last first") but also in Matthew's complementary account of Jesus' encounter with the rich, young man. In both cases, Christ's teaching and his main point are the same. But what exactly does this phrase mean, and when people use it, do they really mean what it says?

Too often, I hear this phrase used as an implicit reminder of a reward for those who are nice to other people. Let that pregnant lady on the elevator and catch the next one...the last shall be first. Give some money to a homeless man you pass by on your morning commute...the last shall be first. For many, this phrase is really just a moralistic proverb, a reminder of why you should do good things. Sadly, for Christians it is often the same. But that isn't what Jesus is saying at all.

As is always the case with Scripture, reading the context helps understand the meaning. Here's the passage in its entirety:

17And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." 28Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." 29Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Mark 10:17-31 (ESV)

Christ clearly ties being one of the last-made-first not with some kind of moral do-goodness, but with the consequences of a life devoted to following him. If that seems like a subtle distinction, think about it again. Common usage would suggest that the one that does the most sacrificial "good things" somehow gains placement "first" in virtue of their "last" nice-guy standing. But Christ clearly points out just a few verses earlier that this is the complete opposite of his meaning. Consider his conversation with the rich, young man; the man said that he had kept all the commandments, but Christ asks him for more. The mere keeping of the law, the doing of good things, is not enough to save him. He must be willing to sacrifice the thing that is most dear to him in order to follow Christ.

The reality of this passage is not that money is the obstacle to following Christ. For this man, it was. The reality is that being "last" means loss, sacrifice and persecution because of faithfulness "for [Christ's] sake and for the gospel." You can do all the good things that you like; you can give and help and sacrifice until you are blue in the face, but if it is only for your sake and not for the sake of the Gospel, then it means nothing. Truly being one last-made-first means being one that will give up anything for the call and furthering of the Gospel, and being one who will follow Christ above all else. To simply do good deeds for the sake of being last (made first) is as void as the rich, young man's willingness to keep the commands but hold on to his wealth.

So the phrase isn't really about doing good deeds at all- it's about the reality that those who truly follow Christ will have to give up and suffer for it, but that the lastness of this suffering translates into the firstness of communion with believers here on earth and ultimately, communion with God forever. It's not what you do, it's who you're doing it for.

OK Go

This is simply amazing.

Our (fur) Baby

It occurs to me that it has been a long time since I've posted any pictures of our adorable puppy Paisley, and a few weeks ago she got to spend some playtime in the snow. It's probably her favorite thing ever...well, second only to peanut butter. Here are some action shots of our crazy pooch:

Our sweet puppy, calm and enjoying the snow...


Graceful as a deer, bounding through the snow...


This is probably my favorite picture of her...she's got the crazy eyes.


Paisley's not super agile, but that doesn't stop her from trying.

Recently, Paisley's had a bit of drama in her life. What was supposed to be a short pedicure for her turned into an impromptu first aid session when I accidentally cut the quick of one of her nails. I know, I should have been more careful...I felt awful about it. A quick tip: when you do this to your dog, sticking her foot in a bowl of flour coats the nail and helps staunch the bleeding. Unfortunately, you also have a dog tracking flour all over the house. At least it's better than her tracking blood all over the house.

Paisley wanted to lick all the flour off her paw, resulting in a restart to the bleeding, so before it was all said and done, her foot got a second dip in the flour and she got a stylish sock to keep her from licking her nail. She was none too pleased about this.

Finally, she settled down from all the excitement and made peace with the fact that she was going to have to wear this sock (for a little while, at least).

That's all the canine news for now, but I'm sure there will be plenty more fodder for future posts since there will be many new and exciting things coming in her (and our) lives.

Brian McLaren & Whole Foods

Here's a short parable, written by Dr. Jim Hamilton of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, about the new book by Brian D. McLaren, entitled A New Kind of Christianity. I haven't read the book yet, but I've heard response from many who have, and I think this short story hits the nail on the head.

Brian McLaren decided to open his own Whole Foods store. He started small, and the business grew. After a struggle through the early years, he had his own storefront with the sign in the parking lot and everything: Whole Foods.

More and more, though, people complained about the high prices, and they were a little disappointed that while the food was supposed to be healthy, it just didn’t taste as good as what they were used to eating. McLaren wrestled with the problems of price, access, taste, and image, and after much turmoil he began to move toward a solution that he was sure would address the issues.

The change didn’t happen all at once, and McLaren didn’t announce what he had decided to do. In fact, there are some indications that this was, we might say, an organic development, a slow transformation. Once it had happened, though, the results are clear for all to see...(read the entire post here).

Old-New News

Note: This post was originally written a week ago, but I've just gotten around to publishing it. Sorry for the delay.

It's been one of those weeks, and yet, I find that God has been teaching me quite a lot. To be more precise, it was the end of last week and the beginning of this week that were so rough. I've been sick, which is no fun in and of itself, but I was teaching a class on Saturday (a week ago) and felt horrible the night before, so I took the night off to sleep. I am not sure if I was feeling better or worse than our puppy, who got bit in the face by some insect and looked like a Shar-pei for the evening.

It turned out to be providential that I was at home, sick on Saturday morning, because at 6am, as I was laying awake in bed, feeling awful, I heard water running into our apartment from the burst hot water heater in the apartment above. I was able to move everything out of the way in time, but if I had been at work, the water would have run for at least 2 hours, probably ruining furniture, important files and our brand new computer.

Paisley still had a swollen face when I finally got her out of the kennel, so Kristen took her to the vet while I went to teach this class. The vet was unconcerned, and after a few more doses of Bendryl, she looked much better that evening. The rest of the week was pushing furniture around, a new carpet pad and shampoo and generally a lot of re-organizing everything that was hastily pushed away earlier.

But the small adversities I faced this week reminded me of two very important realities that I too often take for granted. First, the scope of difficulty that I face pales in comparison to the lives that so many people live daily. The day all this happened was also the day that a 8.8 earthquake struck the country of Chile, and the perspective on our little inconvenience is humbling. Please continue to pray for the people of Chile, and I once again recommend Baptist Global Response to give to relief efforts.

Second, I was reminded of the faithfulness of God. Sure, last weekend was rough, but it could have been many times worse. We weren't faced with a major vet bill, nor did we have to worry about replacing any of our stuff. And, in the grand scheme of things, our possessions have no everlasting value, and yet God was faithful to protect us from further difficulty and loss. A conversation with the pastor of a church that called me recently only affirmed again the faithfulness of God, as he was used by God to further make clear the direction of his call on our lives.

I'm grateful this week for God's grace and love. I'm grateful for his work in my heart, the shifting of my desires that changes my outlook on our material possessions from anxiety and fear to peace and comfort, even in the midst of difficulty. I'm thankful for the reality of the Gospel in my life this week.