THANKFUL THURSDAY...waiting in line

It has been awhile since I have been to a concert, but this past weekend, I went with our church youth group to see Winter Jam. The concert was great, but the wait beforehand took alot of patience.

We arrived at the door 3 hours ahead of time, the wait time outside, in the cold, was 1 hour and 45 minutes. And as the time ticked on, the more compact we all became, as we crowded around the entry doors. I had forgotten how much I hate waiting.

But just like most things, good things come to those who wait. And soon the wait was over and by the end of the night, the wait was worth it. We were able to get good seats. As I sat there, I noticed the seats way up at the top, the place that most of us call the "nose bleed" section. I thought about the poor person who was last in line who had no choice but to sit way at top, far from everything.

Isn't it just like our fast paced society to tell us to be quick, to hurry up and to strive to arrive early and get to the front of the line. But Jesus tells us something quite opposite...

"To be first, we must be last." (Mark 9:35)

Jesus gave us many examples of how He, Himself, placed Himself below others. Whenever I find myself waiting in a long line, for a long time, I need to remember that being frustrated, impatient and counting the minutes is not a good attitude. Instead, may I be more like Christ, and may I put my selfish ways down and look around to see if someone else needs to go before me instead.

When is the last time you gave up your position so that you could be last? To have a servants heart, we must be willing to take the last seat, fix our plate at the fellowship dinner last, park in the last parking place far from the building, we must be willing to give our good seat up and sit in the nose bleed of life. If we want to make Christ first in our life, we may need to be last in a thing or two.

I'm thankful that God showed us the true spirit of sacrifice. May each of us this week look for ways that we can serve others by being last.

What are you thankful for today? I am happy to be hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY this month, won't you share your grateful heart with us by linking up below?