Do you see me?
Mark 9:35 “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and servant of all.”
There is a built- in nature in all of us that wants to be seen, acknowledged, and to belong. If you have ever been ignored or treated like you don’t matter, the nature to belong and be seen has never been so painfully magnified. Considering the statement Jesus was making to the disciples in Mark 9:35, He was addressing that need and desire in them, and explaining to them His way of fulfilling that need. The perfect example of this for me is watching Jesus interact with the “red district” community in the show “Chosen”.
First of all, Jesus saw and acknowledged those that were beneath the higher class. He made sure those individuals felt belonging and worth through His genuineness and care. He remembered them, called them by name.
My husband and I do group counseling at a addiction recovery center and I recently watched a young lady break down all because a teacher from her past remembered who she was. Do you think the human need to be remembered and noticed has been ignored due to an imbalanced teaching of what makes us prideful, or do we project onto others what has been done to us? I guess I would have to say yes to both questions. Speaking for myself, I have witnessed head leaders in Christian organizations ignore me and those around me seemingly on purpose, which I perceived as arrogance.
What I saw as pride, may very well have been their own busyness and legitimate belief system within themselves that says, “If you’re not here to help me, you’re here to take from me.” However, to be totally honest, as I look at myself, I have, in the past, ignored people I know, completely due to my own insecurities and social immaturity. Often, my ignoring others simply comes from a place of unworthiness. Meaning: I don’t want to be seen as the “time-sucking” person, or the belief that they probably don’t remember me anyway. All to say there’s still evidence of the need to be seen and remembered.
In conclusion, and in my opinion, Jesus is the most remembered talked about person that walked the earth. Whether you like Him or not. He was giving the disciples the key to exactly what they wanted. If we want to be noticed, remembered, recognized, first pick, and so on, then we have to become like Jesus and meet, in the heart of others, the very need we all have. We do this by serving, acknowledging, valuing, and validating others. As Myles Munroe says, following Jesus is very simple and most of us miss it because it’s not sophisticated enough for us.
Going Beyond
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