Palm Sunday kicks off the great paradox of Holy Week. Can you imagine God, the omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the universe, the source of all we are and all we have – God! – humbling himself in front of you? But that’s what He did:
- He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a stallion, the gallant horse of a king.
- Crowds were shouting acclimations of “Hosanna” when in just a few days that same crowd would cry out “Crucify Him.”
- He could have called on legions of angels to fight for Him. Yet, He allowed soldiers to take him to court. He remained silent in front of Pilate. He endured spitting and lashes. He took on a crown of thorns, and carried His cross.
- People thought He would take His seat on a throne. Instead, He wound up in a tomb.
Jesus knew who He was. But though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8). He did this for you. He did this because He loves you.
Stewardship, like Holy Week, is also a paradox. It is striving to be like Jesus, living counter-culturally, living courageously, giving sacrificially. It is regarding others as more important, looking out for their interests ahead of your own (3-4), It is humbly submitting to God’s will, and being obedient to His word.
Stewardship is going deeper in our relationship with Jesus. What would your life look like if you ran to Him and tried to live as He would wish: humble, other-centered, self-sacrificing, and generous?
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