Episode 2732 - Lesson 3 - Wednesday April 15 - The Greatest Offense

The Greatest OffenseImagine being a disciple of Jesus. You travel with Him, eat with Him, sleep near Him, and learn from Him as He transforms countless lives, including yours. People clamor after Him, and you realize how special it is that He chose you to be one of the 12 closest to Him. Then you start to wonder: Who really is the greatest of all the disciples?In Luke 22:24-27, read Jesus’ response to the disciples’ dispute about what greatness means. What one statement captures the heart of Jesus’ message here?One would have thought that after all this time of being close to Jesus, this kind of debate would have been the last thing on their minds. But that is not what happened.Instead of these men being content with their calling, pride rose in their hearts to where each one thought he was better than the others. It’s easy to allow such thoughts to dominate our minds. But we are told that “there is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.”--Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 154.This is very serious for us. Our pride offends God more than anything else, and it’s a character trait that is difficult to overcome because we often don’t see it for what it is. In our state of self-sufficiency, we choose not to self-evaluate, for surely pride is king. We need to stop, self-diagnose, and ask that God will open our eyes to our true state, because pride may be the number-one factor that keeps us from having a close relationship with God today.If you realize that God alone can do the work to remove pride and selfishness from your soul, pause and pray this prayer right now: “Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.”--Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 159.