“Shotgun!”

Today’s Passages – Luke 14 – 16; Proverbs 1

Second Milers also read – Psalm 1 – 5; Memorize Jude 22

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

Read last year’s post – “Soulwinning” from Luke 14 – 16

“But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.” – (Luke 14:10)

When I was a youth director I used to get a kick out of watching the teenagers fight over the front seat of the van. They would race to the van all shouting “Shotgun!”, which apparently meant the front seat alongside of the driver. I remember taking the time to teach them from this passage and others like it that we should really be fighting over the back seat and not the front. I was kidding about the fighting part, but those kids took me literally and began to race, trying to beat one another to the back of the van. I think those crazy teens just loved to fight!

What is it about our old fallen nature that we must insist on getting the preeminence? We want the front seat of the car; we want the closest parking spot in the shopping center. We will actually fight over these things. It’s craziness. I have often thought it funny that people who will walk for miles in an exercise program won’t walk an extra twenty feet in a parking lot.

We need to get over ourselves, and just accept the fact that we are just a small part of a big world made up of now 7 billion people. The universe does not revolve around us, it revolves around Christ. Our goal is to give Him the preeminence:

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” – (Colossians 1:18)

One of the best ways for us to give the Lord the preeminence in our lives is to give Him first place, and then to put other people before ourselves. There is an old acrostic that illustrates this principle very well:

J – Jesus

O – Others

Y – You

JOY