Day 32: He Gets First Dibs

When Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave the order to go to the other side of the sea. A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” “Lord,” another of his disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:18–22

Jesus wasn’t simply a sojourner with no place to lay His head. He was abandoned and betrayed over and over and over again by those closest to Him. His mom and dad literally forgot Him at the temple when He was just a kid. His cousins tried to kill Him. His best friend threw Him under the bus at His greatest point of need, just prior to His murder on the cross. Surely our Savior’s Enneagram number was 13 because of the unlucky hand He was dealt relationally!

As we know, Jesus kept at it, even when His community gave up on Him. And please don’t hear me wrong—I’m not trying to imply that human relationships aren’t necessary or significant. Quite the contrary, I believe community is critical. Just think of the apostle John’s encouragement to love other people well because that’s how the world will know we’re followers of Christ (John 13:34–45). Then there’s Lesslie Newbigin, who made one of my all-time favorite observations about community: “I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the Gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.”8 In other words, we actually see Jesus most clearly when we view Him through the lens of other people!

Trust me, I’m an ardent fan of authentic friendships. Several times while we were quarantined during COVID-19, I drove over to dear friends’ homes and stood in their yards so I could at least see them through their window while we chatted instead of over a computer screen! Doing life with other people is a divine gift . . . community is significant and life-giving and sacred.

However, even in the life of Christ, it’s obvious that our horizontal relationships with other humans must be subordinate to our relationship with God. Whether our relationships are giving us all sorts of life and encouragement, or they are trying to throw us under the bus, the truth is this: He comes first, period.

• How can you see the value of community in Jesus’ life, but also the dedication to the Father as primary to Him?
• What human relationships get the bulk of your attention and affection?
• What are you intentionally doing to ensure they stay in second place, behind God?