Matthew 20:26-27 “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.”

Ambition is a strange thing. With none of it, we seldom progress, and largely just exist. However, when directed in the wrong ways, it can totally corrupt our value as human beings. Jesus’ description of “the rulers of the Gentiles” in verse 25 is all too familiar to us even today, and we don’t even have to look to places like North Korea to find shining examples. However, when such motivation makes its way into the Church, the result is tragic. We are called to follow Christ’s example, as He points out in the next verse after this. The difficulty is that this violates human nature. We want to feel big by making others small, and that is the opposite of what Jesus did. The thing is, when we know who we are in Christ, that is to say, redeemed and forgiven children of the Creator of the universe, then any earthly title or position absolutely pales in comparison, and we have absolutely no need to put anyone down to build us up. It’s not a zero-sum game! Our ambition should be to be good disciples, accurately hearing and obeying what our Lord says to us, delighting to build up those around us, because that’s exactly what our Lord did during His earthly ministry. None of us are there fully yet, just as Paul recognized, (Philippians 3:10-14) but we are on the way, and we should rejoice in that fact.

I think I’m a strange one when it comes to ambition, because I have set very few goals in my life, at least in ways that others might call ambitious. That has left me as what been called an underachiever. I find myself challenged by what William S. Clark said to his students as he was leaving what is now Hokkaido University: “Boys, be ambitious.” That is the secular version of the quote, but Clark was a dedicated Christian, and it is reliably reported that the full quote includes, “in Christ.” The Japanese government conveniently cut that off! The challenge to me is not to be satisfied with how things are, but to keep striving, with all the strength God gives me, to bring His rule and reign to this earth. I am certainly not up to the task, but He is, and I must not be satisfied with less. I have recently been challenged by circumstances and my response to them. I have no room for pride! However, God isn’t through with me, and my ambition must be to run the race laid out for me to the end, for God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You’re bringing me through, the fun parts and the hard parts. May I not rely on myself, but indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in You, doing Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!