Jesus said, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”

We sat in the emergency room of the hospital just outside Montego Bay, Jamaica. A young man on our team had hurt his knee riding a motorcycle. My lawyer friend and I were silenced and somewhat afraid.

A weeping woman held her infant child motionless. The child was not responding at all. She sat there for four hours waiting for a doctor or nurse to see the child.

There were people bleeding, getting sick, but all waiting to be seen. After about eight hours, we made arrangements for the young man of our team to be flown home. As we were leaving for the airport, my lawyer friend turned to me and said, “I am going home and paying all the doctor and medical bills I have and never complain about them again.”

The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

I am like a spoiled brat. This week, I am so frustrated with my cable, internet and phone service. I must be at the end of a run that is yet to be fixed. But why can't they just tell me when it is going to be restored?

I am now a “coffee shop” regular to use the internet. I can't get all my channels with rabbit ears on my television. And yet, I slap myself in the face realizing that there are some folks who are still without electricity!!!

And then I realize that MY world is eventually going to get better while others' worlds are going to stay the same - little or no electricity, little or no food, no cable.

And the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

An American bishop is in one of the African nations waiting for worship to begin. People have walked for days to come and worship. It is a sacrifice for these children of God to attend worship.

The worship begins. The songs are sung with great zeal and energy. The message proclaims the gospel. Hundreds of people come forward for prayer and to give their life to Jesus.

The service closes with a song that proclaims, “I've got shoes, You've got shoes, All God's children in the kingdom got shoes!”

The bishop is captured by the joy of the singing and looks down only to realized that HE is the only one wearing shoes.

And the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

We may be ahead in this world only to find ourselves last in God's.

Pray for me as I pray for you, in the Master's Name.

Dr. M. Jack O'Dell can be reached at these web sites:

www.thewellumc.com

www.midweekmanna.com