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 (you know – God!) willing to be humiliated 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 cheering him on and singing “Hosanna in the highest.” But at the end of the week that same crowd would yell, “Crucify Him.”
- The people wanted Him to be king and take His seat on the throne. Instead, he got a crown of thorns and was nailed to the cross. And then He wound up in a tomb.
But, Jesus knew who He was. We read in Philipians 2:6-8 that, “though he was in the form of God, he 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. He was willing to be humiliated. He did this for you. He did this because He loves you. This is part of His legacy.
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. That creates our legacy.
What will your legacy be? How can living stewardship help you go deeper in your relationship with Jesus. What would your life look like if you tried to live as He would wish: humble, other-centered, self-sacrificing, and generous?
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