Have you ever had an assumption and then that assumption was changed by a conversation that you had with another person who had a different experience?
You can probably identify a friend, family member, or co-worker who has a tendency to change your perspective. Sometimes these "perspective changers" are just playing the role of devils advocate, but sometimes they are playing a vital role in your life.
All of us appreciate a change of perspective when the suggestion for a perspective change comes with grace, love, humility, and a vision for a better type of life.
The difficulty is when the perspective change places us in a spot of embarrassment or when it inconveniences us.
When a change of perspective comes at what feels like the right place and at the right time it is usually tied to what we would identify as a compelling a conversation. Compelling conversations are the conversations that we remember for a long time.
A compelling conversation is that conversation you had with your close friend in your living room five years ago. You have had thousands of other conversations with this friend. Why does this particular conversation stick out? That conversation sticks out because it was compelling and it offered some type of change in your perspective.
Jesus was always initiating compelling conversations. Jesus said things that radically shifted people's perspective in his time. I would contend that the compelling conversations that Jesus had still offer a change of perspective for us today.
For example in Mark 10, a rich young man had just approached Jesus asking for eternal life. He would not give up "ONE THING" to follow Jesus. That "ONE THING" is his material possessions. Once this man leaves saddened, Jesus has a follow up conversation with his disciples about this man, and about the essence of eternal life. Jesus closes this conversation with a statement that offers a perspective shift for all of us.
"But many who are first will be last, will be last; and the last, first." - Mark 10:31
Jesus pulled a reverse Ricky Bobby. Instead of saying "If you ain't first your last." Jesus is saying "If you ain't last then you ain't first."
This one sentence, this one statement drastically changes the way we have to look at our lives. In the Kingdom that Jesus initiated here on earth it's not about title, status, and being recognized as "first" or "the best." In the Kingdom movement that Jesus started it's about putting others before yourself.
Let this one sentence be a compelling conversation in your life today.
What does it look like in your life to "be last" and place others ahead of yourself?
For more on this idea of "Compelling Conversations" check out our latest series from New Story Church.
Comments