November 30 - Considering Jesus First

     This eighth “Let us” passage says, in the original Greek, “Let us consider one another.” (See Hebrews 10:24.) But I would like to look back to Hebrews 3:1, where the same word, “consider,” is used. It reads, “Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.” If we consider Jesus, we will end up considering one another. But it is important that we do it in that order. We consider Jesus first; then, we consider one another. It makes a great deal of difference whether I relate to you as just a person or as a person in Christ.

     My mind goes back to an incident that happened while I was the principal of a college that trained teachers in East Africa. For every vacancy that allowed us to accept one student, there were at least ten suitable applicants. One girl actually walked twenty-four miles barefoot just to get an interview. You can hardly conceive the desperate hunger people in Africa had for getting an education. Education was the key to success in life, as they saw it.

     One day, an elderly mother came to me on behalf of her son, a prospective student. He was not exactly suitable for the school, however, and we had not accepted him. His mother was pestering me to the point that I was growing annoyed with her. In Africa, they do not believe in democracy; they believe in the chief, the strong man. He is the one who matters. This woman kept telling me, “You are the great one; what you say goes.” I got so irritated that I was about to give her a piece of my mind—and it was not my sanctified mind, either! That is when the Lord spoke to me, very gently, saying, Remember, she’s one of My children. Be careful how you treat her. I repented. She really was a dear, precious woman, and a child of God. If we consider Jesus first, it will make all the difference in how we consider one another.

Thank You, Lord, that You help me to love others. I proclaim that I consider Jesus first, allowing this perspective to affect how I consider others. I shall consider others. Amen.