Reflections for Youth - Greatness and Ghost Hunting

My favorite game that we pay at youth group is Ghost Fighting Treasure Hunters.  If you are not familiar it’s a board game  where each player travels through the rooms of a haunted house looking for treasure and fight ghosts along the way. I love it because it is a  game no one person can win.  We all have to work together to finish the game. Each player has to help other players and we all have to work together to find the treasure and fight the ghosts. So, we either all win—or the ghosts win.

Now when it comes to playing games or just in life it feels pretty good to be the winner—to be the greatest. Right? 

But if you are the greatest or the winner, then that means that someone else is not the winner—and I know that I sometimes feel sad for people when they try really hard but don’t win.  That’s why I love playing our ghost hunting game  - everyone wins and nobody is sad. 

In our scripture passage today for this week Jesus teachers the disciples about true greatness.

Read Mark 9: 33-37

Jesus and the disciples are walking to Capernaum and he hears the disciples arguing. So, when they get to where they were going Jesus asks them what all their squabbling was about.

And the disciples got very quiet. They had been arguing about which one of them was the most important, was the greatest—who was the winner.

So Jesus sat down and they sat around him and listened to him teach.

“Whoever wants to be first must be the last of all and the servant of everyone.”  Then Jesus picked up a child (and remember children were not very important at the time Jesus was living).  Jesus held the child in his arms and said “Who ever welcomes a child welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes God, who sent me.”

We all have times when we wish were are the best and the most important.  But we need to remember that we are important and loved by God just as we are.  Jesus is calling us to put others first and that our greatness comes from our humility and our ability to love our neighbor.  Now realistically we live in a world where not everyone can win.  I am pretty sure that Jesus is not saying that we should never win - or never strive to be the greatest.  I think that Jesus is reminding us to remember the people who don't win, people who are vulnerable, and people who are powerless.  Jesus tells us in this passage that true greatness comes from lighting up the greatness in others.  

What are some ways you can be a servant to the world this coming week?

(Also you can find Ghost Fighting Treasure Hunters HERE)