Christian Reflection and Prayer

But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to
be a leader among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first among you must
become your slave.
Matthew 20:26-27, NLT

Jesus described leadership from a new perspective.
Instead of using people, we are to serve them. Jesus'
mission was to serve others and to give his life away.
A real leader has a servant's heart. Servant leaders
appreciate others' worth and realize that they're not
above any job.
If you see something that needs to be done, don't
wait to be asked. Take the initiative and do it like a
faithful servant.

(Life Application Daily Devotion)

There was a woman who had been diagnosed
with a terminal illness and was given 3 months
to live. As she began getting her things 'in order',
she called her pastor and asked for him to come
to her house to discuss certain aspects of her
final wishes. She told him which songs she
wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she
wanted read, and what dress she wanted to be
buried in. She also requested to be buried with
her favorite Bible in her left hand. Everything was
in order and as the pastor was preparing to leave,
the woman suddenly remembered one final
request that was very important to her. "Please
Pastor, just one more thing," she said excitedly.
"Sure, what is it?" came the pastor's reply. "This
is very important to me," the woman continued ...
"I want to be buried holding a fork in my right
hand." The pastor gazed at the woman, at a loss
for words.

"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman
asked. The pastor replied "Well to be quite honest,
I am puzzled by the request".

The woman explained. "You see, Pastor, in all
my years of attending church socials and potluck
dinners, I remember that when the dishes were
being cleared after the main course, someone
would inevitably lean over to me and say, 'Keep
your fork' ... it was my favorite part of the meal
because I knew that something better was coming,
like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie.
Something wonderful to end the meal!"

The pastor listened intently and a smile came
upon his face. The woman continued, "So, I just
want people to see me there with a fork in my
hand and I want them to wonder ... 'What's with
the fork'... then I want you to tell them: "Keep
your Fork ... the best is yet to come".

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as
he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew that this
would be one of the last times that he would see
her before her death. But he also knew that the
woman had a better grasp of Heaven than he did.

She knew and trusted that the best was yet to
come. At the funeral, every one that walked by
the woman's casket saw her wearing a beautiful
dress with her favorite Bible held in her left hand
and a fork held in her right hand.

Over and over the pastor heard people ask the
question, "Why is she holding a fork?" and his
smile began to get larger and brighter each time.
During his message, the pastor told the people
about the conversation that he had with the
woman shortly before she died. He explained the
fork and what it symbolized to her. The Pastor
told everyone how he could not stop thinking
about the fork and how he hoped that they would
not be able to stop thinking about it either.

(GodVine)

Scripture:

"This is what the Kingdom of God is like
" Mark 4:26

The story is told of an ancient king who
presented his court jester with a beautiful wand...

"I give you this trophy," said the king, "to
symbolize your status as the greatest fool in my
kingdom. You are to keep it until you can give it
to a greater fool than yourself."

The court jester good-naturedly accepted the
award. Some time later, the king was dying and
asked to see the jester. "I want to say good-bye,
" he said. "I am going on a long journey that will
last forever." The jester then asked, "What have
you done to prepare for this great trip?" "Nothing
whatever," the king replied. "Since I don't know
exactly where I am going on this long journey,
there is nothing to be done." To which the jester
replied, "Then take this wand. You are the biggest
fool of all!"

( Sunday Sermons Online )