Being #1

By Bartek Ambrozik In high school, I won the state competition for voice in the Talents for Christ contest sponsored by our association of churches. The win qualified me to compete at the national level for a scholarship. Although I lost, I was confident I would easily win the state contest again the following year.

However, when I sang in front of the judges a year later, the tempo dragged, I stumbled over the words, my confidence deserted me, and I couldn’t get back on track. I was relieved when the song ended and suspect the judges were too. I hardly spoke to our church music director on the drive home. My talent wasn’t for Christ but for my self-significance.

I remembered that experience after reading Matthew 18:1-6 recently. The disciples asked Jesus who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Instead of launching into a theological explanation, Jesus set up an object lesson by calling a child. As the child stepped out of the crowd into the center, I can imagine Jesus taking the child into His arms, then looking at each disciple and saying quietly yet firmly, “…unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3, ESV).

Jesus knew their hearts. He knew their pride, their one-upmanship. They needed to do a 180º turn from their unkingdom-like visions of glory.

Entering the kingdom of heaven is about repentance and willingness to let Christ change our old ways into His ways (2 Corinthians 5:17). In the disciples’ case, the issue was pride and self-aggrandizement. The disciples, like me, had to learn to become like children. Children symbolize innocence and a lack of pretension. They also easily accept the truth without asking questions stemming from self-justification.

All but one disciple eventually learned the lesson. Judas betrayed Jesus because Jesus’ kingdom didn’t fit his lust for grandeur. Judas’ kingdom would have looked like any other kingdom when the outs become the ins and the ins become the outs. The other disciples developed boldness yet clothed with humility. Judas’ choice led to guilt and death, the other disciples found life and true significance.

I didn’t have a great epiphany during the drive back home. But I learned something eventually from the sting of defeat. The greatest are not those seeking to be great — it’s those who accept who they are, enjoy Christ’s presence, and allow Him to mold their character and position them for His service.

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