Principles From the Back of the Line

Principles from the Back of the Line

Written by Justin Knight

“He must become greater while I become less. “

In the scriptures in Luke chapter twenty-two the Lord Jesus Christ was about to be crucified. With great love he met with his disciples in one last supper Passover meal.  He said He desired and looked forward to this moment.  

It says in Luke Chapter 22

²⁴ Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. ²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ²⁶ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.

So, in essence like is states in Matthew twenty the last will be first and the first last. 

It also says in Luke chapter nine verses forty-eight whoever is least among you will become greatest in my kingdom

If you have lived for any time at all you will have picked up on the idea that it is of extreme importance I our American culture to strive to achieve greatness.  This is so opposite of the Word of God and the life of Christ.

 One of the best examples other than Jesus is found in the forerunner of Christ John the Baptist. The Lord’s servant John the Baptist was facing in his ministry the fading of prominence on the scene.  He watched his disciples leave him to follow Jesus the Christ whom John the Baptist declared “There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.  Isn’t it natural to want to be at the front of the line?  The Lord Himself would use John the Baptist as well as His Messianic life to teach us the principles from the back of the line.

John even forgot and sent his disciples to Jesus later while in prison and asked are you the one or should we look for another?  Life’s tests and challenges press in on us.  The journey is not easy.  Becoming less is an emptying of ourselves to make room for the Lord.  Often times we are filled with so much other stuff that there is no room for Christ and He is not glorified.  Philippians chapter two speaks of Jesus who left heaven and came to earth and emptied himself to become nothing so that we could be made whole.  Let that sink in.  The Lord loves you so much that He left heaven and the Father to dwell among us who are dirty and unclean and filled with everything of the world.  He loves you and me so much that he died for you and me on a cross and was raised from the dead so that we could be forgiven, healed and made whole.  Sometimes we carry around hurts and wounds and unforgiveness like our precious cargo traveling from one airport to another.  Wouldn’t it be liberating if we could just empty our lives out and allow the cleaning of the Lord’s Spirit to blow through our hearts and minds to cleans us and refresh our souls.  It will not happen by inviting the Lord to come join us and our party, but it will happen when we surrender all and empty ourselves to be jars of clay that holds this precious treasure called the Lord Jesus Christ!

There are some valuable lessons we learn at the back of the line. There is power in obscurity.

Obscurity simply means “The state of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant”.

Let me just say that I among many of God’s servants has at one point or another struggled with ambition.

Oh, but we desire to accomplish great things for the Lord. But what is the motive behind the ambition? The Lord knows all and sees all, and He is the one who knows our motives of our thoughts and intentions. An easy way to stay on the straight path is to ask myself is it about me?  It is so easy to minister for the Lord and though our name and talents may be exhibited, the Lord knows our true hearts.  This post is a challenge to all of us to glorify the Lord as we fade away in the distance and the focus is all on Jesus.

There is a wonderful story in the Old Testament that displays being prepared to make Him greater. In I Kings 19:15-16, 19-21, we discover the story of Elijah extending leadership to Elisha.

The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet…. So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.” “Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. (I Kings 19:15-16, 19-21)

Elijah found Elisha faithfully doing the small things every day. He was in the waiting, hiding in the Lord and in obscurity. God was preparing his heart and life for what was ahead.  Simply put Obscurity is where God prepares you. Sometimes we may feel like Elisha.  We may even feel like we are being punished. But obscurity is the preparation ground for Godly spiritual formation in our lives. Obscurity is where God prepares you, for what he has prepared for you. Obscurity is the terrain where you develop character and relational intimacy with Christ in Prayer.

Before God could use Elisha to prepare a nation, He wanted him to be faithful behind a cow and a plow.

 Prayer is the first lesson from the back of the line.  It is in our relationship with the Lord through communication in prayer, and the next principle to learn from the back of the line is presence.  Presence is found after developing a life of communication with the Lord through prayer and the study of His Word. He inhabits the praises of His people. He longs to dwell with those whom He loves. He invites us to draw near to Him and He in return will draw near to us. The third principle from the back of the line is power.  This is backwards from our world’s standards.  We think power comes from strength.  In the spiritual, power comes when we intentionally become less and less fading away into the grip of God’s grace.  When we are weak, then He our Lord can be made strong. Our circumstances and what we go through brings pain, sorrow, and all kinds of emotions. We tend to want to relieve that as soon as possible and get rid of whatever makes us uncomfortable. Jesus clung to His cross.  The old hymn says, “and I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown”.

So, will we take the challenge from John the Baptist, the bruised reed blowing in the wind, sought out by the hand of God and reshaped for His greater Glory? When God becomes great and glorified then we are partakers of His great Kingdom.