42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
We are called to be faithful, and we have been enlisted into the service of a faithful God. That involves possessing an attitude of humility, not thinking of ourselves in a haughty or arrogant manner, but recognizing that He is our Lord and He calls us to serve Him and to serve others. The call on our lives is wrapped up in fulfilling who God wants us to be, and His purpose for us is to demonstrate His love and character, so that He might be glorified.
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There is a passage of Scripture in Luke 16 containing the words of Jesus, who teaches us to be faithful in the small things of life, indicating what is in our hearts:
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
The annual convergence in Omaha, Nebraska commences this weekend - yes, it's the College World Series, or is it the SEC Invitational. Out of 8 teams in the tournament, the conference has half of them: Florida, LSU, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt, the defending national collegiate baseball champions.
Yes, that is the Commodores squad that had 3 players drafted in the first round.
The number 1 pick, selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks, has the reference Proverbs 3:5-6 on his Twitter feed, following the words, "I am Second."
The top draft pick was demonstrating that on the field at the Hoover Met recently. The story is told in the Tennessean that at the SEC Tournament recently, the stadium grounds crew saw that this player led the team out of the dugout during a downpour to help pull out the heavy rain tarp. The opposition players later followed before quickly returning to shelter. As the rain continued, the grounds crew thanked the Vandy players for their much-needed help. His father is quoted as saying, "That's our family's Christian background," adding "The leader is the servant."
In draft scouting reports, Dansby Swanson's character and leadership qualities are listed in equal portions to his hitting prowess, arm strength and fielding range. His coach Tim Corbin, says that
jealousy hasn't bitten Swanson's teammates because he "does everything top shelf … including picking up buckets and serving other people."
Fellow first-rounder Carson Fulmer, Swanson's roommate says, "What you've got on the field is obviously what you see, but he's even better off the field."
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
The annual convergence in Omaha, Nebraska commences this weekend - yes, it's the College World Series, or is it the SEC Invitational. Out of 8 teams in the tournament, the conference has half of them: Florida, LSU, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt, the defending national collegiate baseball champions.
Yes, that is the Commodores squad that had 3 players drafted in the first round.
The number 1 pick, selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks, has the reference Proverbs 3:5-6 on his Twitter feed, following the words, "I am Second."
The top draft pick was demonstrating that on the field at the Hoover Met recently. The story is told in the Tennessean that at the SEC Tournament recently, the stadium grounds crew saw that this player led the team out of the dugout during a downpour to help pull out the heavy rain tarp. The opposition players later followed before quickly returning to shelter. As the rain continued, the grounds crew thanked the Vandy players for their much-needed help. His father is quoted as saying, "That's our family's Christian background," adding "The leader is the servant."
In draft scouting reports, Dansby Swanson's character and leadership qualities are listed in equal portions to his hitting prowess, arm strength and fielding range. His coach Tim Corbin, says that
jealousy hasn't bitten Swanson's teammates because he "does everything top shelf … including picking up buckets and serving other people."
Fellow first-rounder Carson Fulmer, Swanson's roommate says, "What you've got on the field is obviously what you see, but he's even better off the field."
And, how about on the field? Well, the VUCommodores.com website announced yesterday that D1Baseball.com has named Swanson the National Player of the Year. He and Fulmer are first-team All-Americans. He is the first Commodore to win the honor since former Montgomery Biscuit David Price in 2007. He leads the Commodores in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples and home runs going into the College World Series. Over his last 15 games, Swanson is hitting .361 with 15 extra-base hits, eight home runs, 19 RBI and 19 runs.
And, he believes he's right where God wants him to be. In a "Behind the V" piece on VUCommodores.com website, he's quoted as saying: "After I came on my visit to Vandy, I knew this was where God wanted me to be. The family atmosphere and culture of our baseball team is second to none, and the academics will set you up for life after baseball is over. "
So one day, you are likely to be watching the Vandy star in the major leagues, and maybe even at Riverwalk Stadium along the way - Arizona's AA affiliate is the Mobile Bay Bears, so who knows?
This young man from Marietta, Georgia, my hometown, whose parents were athletes at the high school I attended, as well as at what was then Troy State, can challenge us in our own lives.
First of all, are you where God wants you to be in your life? This young man sensed God's call upon his life to attend Vanderbilt. We can be challenged to really examine the course of our lives to see if we are really within God's will. There may be an opportunity for some course correction, and we can depend on the Holy Spirit to help get us on track. Perhaps God is calling you to take a bold step in your life, or maybe He is leading you to take the next step - in school, career, a leadership position, a ministry opportunity. It's important to depend on Him to get us into the right place.
And, no matter where you are along the timeline of your life, there are opportunities to engage in activity that brings honor to God. You don't have to wait for the next destination. Just as Dansby's father said, "the leader is the servant." So, even though God may be moving in your life in a macro sense to position you for effectiveness in His plan for you, I believe He still directs us to do those "little things," those acts of service, that demonstrate to others that we belong to Him. And, remember that Jesus talks about being faithful in those small things.
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