peace . love . joy

Did you know that the phrase:
"I will never leave you nor forsake you"
appears four times in the Bible?

How familiar we are with that favoured passage! I, myself, have used it quite a few times and have had it quoted to me too. And very often, the quote usually starts with "I (or God) will never" and ends with "forsake you".

Today, I was led to this statement again.

But so what if God promises to never leave us nor forsake us?
So what if it's repeated four times in the Bible?
How do we react to such a declaration of faithfulness?
Do we need to?
Do we simply nod and say "thanks, God, now remember me!" and that's it?
Is it a mere promise, an unretractable clause that we can wave in God's face every time we feel down and out?

Reader, those words are not just words, they are not a printed and unfeeling and inconsequential series of alphabets; they are worth a thousand times more than your weight in gold! And God knew that when He said it and let it be written, forever stamped in the pages of His Truth, our Sword.

You see, God knows, from the beginning of time, that every single one of us, each person, from the oldest sage to the youngest babe, all will face trying times. Temptation saunters by, undulating her hips and licking her lips, teasing us. Tests of our faith and trust meet us like a brick wall that goes on forever to the left and to the right, making us meet it head on with no chance of escape. Giants of fear and terror grow fast and tall like mushrooms, shaking our world beneath their heavy, stomping feet. God knows. And that is why He promised us what He promised us.

The first time, (Deuteronomy 31) Moses said to Israel that he longer could lead them because he was old. But still, they were to cross the Jordan and inherit the land God has said He would give them. They will not be led by their proven leader, and mighty nations stand in their way. And Moses said "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." For where Moses leaves them, Joshua will rise up. And where Moses cannot go before them, the LORD will make safe their path.

Then, turning to Joshua, that strapping young lad, Moses says "Be strong and courageous... The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

After Moses had died, the LORD himself came to Joshua (Joshua 1), Moses' aide, telling him to get ready, to get ready to cross the Jordan River, to get ready to conquer and inherit the land they were promised. And He says "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."

In Hebrews 13, the writer extols us to not be swayed by the ways of the world, to not harbour a spirit of covetousness, to instead be content because God had said "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." And so we can say with confidence "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

When we, like the Israel of old, are faced with uncertainty and fear,
When we, like Joshua, are pushed to the fore, are tasked with a mindbogglingly colossal task,
When we are instructed to keep pure our ways, to keep content our circumstance,

We are explicitly assured of God's continued and undistracted presence and attention.
Because that is when we need to hear it again and again the most.

Such assurance grants us the badges of bravery, of courage and of confidence, grants us the sustenance of perseverance.

We claim it all because we are reminded, surely and undeniably, of our hope, of our trust, of our faith, of our allegiance in the Sovereign One.
He is everywhere at once. "Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there"
He is all powerful. He made the day and the night, the land and the sea, the stars in the sky and the air that we breathe. He calms the storm, feeds the thousand, clothes the lilies of the field and feeds the birds of the sky. He conquered death. He is Life. He alone holds dominion over all.

That is why we are strong and courageous.
That is why we are brave and not discouraged.
That is why we can say with confidence ""The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Therefore, beloved of the LORD,
"Be strong and very courageous.
Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

~ Joshua 1: 7-9

Someone once said that parents should never see their children die. Children are meant to outlive their parents.

I'm not a parent.
I'm not his parent.
Not literally, anyway.

But in a way, I feel like I am.

2 hours ago, he died.

Would've turned 18 in 2 months' time.

I'm the one on the cold, wooden bench with a blank look on my face. I don't know how to feel and I don't know what to do or how to do anything anymore.

I stare at your Facebook profile page,
and glance through your pictures
as I have so often done.

Your profile picture of your younger self looks up,
a cheeky smile just grazing the corners of your lips and lights up your eyes.

A soft-spoken kid, hails not from a shabby background, but still a nice, good boy.

We never sat down together,
have a good long chat over sushi.
We never had one of 'em heated arguments over theology or application.
We never prayed together,
just the two of us.
We never exchanged rapid smses late into the night.

Heck, we never even added each other on msn.

We weren't close.
But strangely, I feel so sad.

Not the a-part-of-me-has-died sad, no.

There's not much to remember.

You were a boy in my Bible Study group.
You were always so quiet.
And we were always having subconscious staring matches.
You very rarely spoke up.

But I know you had fun.
I know you had a group of great friends who love you and watched out for you.
I know one of us, your leaders, cared a great deal for you,
went out of his way to befriend you.

No, we were never close.

But I still feel as though you are my baby.
And I would never wish you ill.

I remember we made a card out of coloured paper for you.
Pink, yellow, blue and green.
With clouds and rainbows on a bright blue sky.
I remember because I prayed over what to write to you, to your parents
while you lay on that hospital bed.

I remember because I was the one who tied all the pages together.
I remember because I was the one who took all the pages home.
I remember because I was the one who read every message that was written to you.

I remember because it caused me distress.

Goodbye for now, my darling boy.

We were never close while we shared time here on Earth,
but I'll see you on the other side.

I'll see you happy, healthy and well again.

Even though I never showed it,
and even though it's too late now,

I love you.

Rest in peace.
But don't rest too long: wake up when Jesus comes a-calling!

Now we lay you down to sleep
We pray the LORD your soul to keep
If you should die before you wake
We pray the LORD your soul to take

My grandmother came over to our house a few weeks ago after paying a visit to the eye specialist. She had lived a life as a farmer before she came to Singapore way back when. So, naturally, she gravitated towards my dad's little 'garden' by our waterfall installation. I watched her take each of the many heavy pots of plants outside into the common lift landing, lug a full bucket of water out from the toilet, and squatted there watering the plants, re-potting the plants, washing every single leaf of every plant we had. Time stood still as I squatted there with her, watching her as I used to do when I was little and we lived together in a big (maybe I remember it as big because I was small) house in Changi, the comfortable silence broken only by short exchanges in Hainanese and the sloshing and dripping of water.

She started tending to them plants in the early afternoon, right after lunch. And she finished, sitting down to dinner, satisfied, only late in the evening. We talked over dinner. She was telling me about how sad she was that too many of my cousins did not understand our dialect, let alone speak it, how I must be a good girl and look after my parents when I'm grown, how I should be looking for a good boy to settle down with... Things that I otherwise would not be open to hear from anyone else, I listened with great anticipation, lapping every single syllable that passed her lips... I listened with great sadness and eagerness.

She, with my paternal grandfather (my maternal grandparents have passed away a long time since. I never knew my maternal grandmother), are old. Her body is bent with time, her bowed legs even more prominent, her eyes grey with cataracts. My grandfather appears to be holding up much better though: he still walks tall and proud, laughs with a hearty guffaw, smokes, climbs up a mountain with still energy to spare much better than I can. Even so, I know the time is ticking. Constantly ticking.

They do not know the LORD. They may have heard of Him, mentioned here and there, but they do not know Him like I know Him.

And I want so badly for them to come to know and understand and love Him.

It pains me that it's so hard to share God with them through words because my grasp of Hainanese is probably as advanced as a three year old's. Why not revert to Chinese if I'm better schooled at that, if I want so badly to share the Gospel to them, you ask? I loathe speaking in Mandarin to them because I am not Chinese; I am Hainanese. We speak a beautiful dialect, not the crude language that annoying emperor concocted. And I know my grandparents get so tickled when I try to speak our dialect with them. And also because my Chinese also isn't that brilliant. I think my German's miles better than my Chinese.

Those urges I keep bottled up inside me burst open and spill out through my actions. I join my grandmother, even if it is in silence, as she does what she loves most - looking after the plants. I listen to what they have to say. I pay attention to what makes them smile, simple things like calling them to eat dinner, kissing them goodbye, saying "hi" to them individually, calling them by the correct kinship term, simple things like that I do.

Oh, how I long for the day when I can rattle off in Hainanese and talk to them so fluidly! Maybe that day will come. Maybe God will grant me the gift of tongues, even if it's just for a few minutes, to speak fluently to them both in their own dialect. I don't know.

But until then, I will try, through my actions and what little Hainese & Chinese I know, and I will help those who try, like helping my father give my grandfather books about Jesus to read, to win them both over to Christ, to the glory of God Almightly above.

Do you know people like that?
People who don't yet know God, and by 'know', I mean to comprehend, to accept, to love Him as we, Christians, say we do.
It could be your neighbour, your friend(s), your grandparent(s), parent(s), sister(s), brother(s), uncle(s), aunty(s), cousin(s), colleague(s), mark(s)...

These people are somehow connected to you.
For you have been given the opportunity, the chance to be in someone else's life, to help them, to change them, to bring them and win them over to God, to the glory of God above, to share with them Life.

You could say "hi" to them every so often, mow their lawns for them without their asking, buy them lunch, do the dishes without seeking praise or recognition...
You could give them books about Jesus to read, invite them over for a cup of tea, introduce them to your Bible study mates...
Take something off their plate to ease their burdens, forgive them...
Show them that neat trick you learnt in Sunday School, sing them that catchy song you sang in church, or recommend that great movie you saw...
You could pray for them, and sometimes, if they permit, pray with them...
Often, sharing Jesus comes in persevering in seemingly small acts of kindness and love, gentleness and patience.
Are you not capable of that?

But beware, dear ones, the time is short.
Everyone dies, but no one knows exactly when each person will pass. Every day, every person faces perils, from mundane daily activities like crossing the road, to health threats by illnesses, to unpredictable environmental events liks tsumanis, typhoons, gusts of wind, scorches of heat, and the shifting of the land beneath the feet.
Jesus is coming again, "Heaven and earth shall pass away... But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24: 35-39)
Therefore, awake from your foolish and simple slumber, and delay no longer!

You hold Life in your hands.
Are you ready to share it with those who march toward eternal death?

Or maybe the question is
Are you willing to?
Are you aching to?

Look out the window.
Do you see those people?

Do they matter enough...
for you to get up off the couch
and reach out both hands?

I was really excited over Chinese New Year this year. It's a big thing for my family (it probably is for most all Chinese) and I love that it's a great excuse to get together with the entire family, even those who've travelled overseas to make a living there return, eat good food together with people whom we love, and get free money, haha!

I didn't get to celebrate it last year with my family because I was over in the UK for my student exchange. And while we did celebrate it, it was with new and unfamiliar faces, and it was just a dinner (and not enough food, at that!). My father brought the webcam over to my granparent's place (we always go there on the eve and on the first day of the celebrations). All throughout the skype conversation, as each of my aunts and uncles, cousins and my grandparents took turns to stand within the frame of the webcam to speak to me, I literally bawled. I never knew I'd miss my family so much!

So you can imagine how excited I was to dress up and go visiting this year.

But on the eve of CNY, I woke up with my left eye alarmingly red. Now, my eyes aren't the healthiest; they're ultra-sensitive and sometimes turn red for no reason whatsoever, but this wasn't the usual redness. This was worrying.

My mum took me to see the doctor at the A&E. He didn't lend himself to be very caring nor compassionate nor trustworthy. But I did listen and took the prescribed medication as directed.

So for the whole of CNY, I had to deal with a bare face (no make-up: I know, I can be quite vain), take ugly photos with other fresh-faced & glamourously made-up people, deal with constant questions about the redness of my eye, and to top it all off, endure the discomfort of my eye.

I was pretty upset! My eyes were fine and so blue-white the days leading up to CNY. What happened??

I prayed really hard and constantly, and I mean persistantly, for God to take it away, for a miracle, and a quickie at that! But somehow, I kept feeling as though God wasn't listening, and it's not because my eye wasn't miraculously healed. Rather, it was as though there was a perspex glass between me and Him and I was hollering, but He couldn't hear. It didn't faze me though; I ploughed right on, relentless in my verbal tirade.

Then, on the first day of CNY, I decided not to go with my family to church for service because my eye was quite bad that morning. When they left, I decided that it'd be nice to have a little "service" of my own right at home. But it was a glimmer of a thought that flitted through my brain. I was quickly distracted by other thoughts.

"Starts with a P-."

That came into my mind all on its own, and all of a sudden.

"Prayer", was my immediate response that surprised me, for I was thinking nothing of prayer in the immediately preceding thoughts, in fact, I was thinking nothing of my faith (more on what I'd eat for lunch and what programs were on TV later)!

Then, I knew what God would have me do in that time I was completely alone at home.

He wanted me to focus on Him.

So I asked that I not be disturbed by anything, no telephone calls, no smses, no person knocking on the door, and certainly no family returning from church. Not until we (ie. God and I) were done with our little rendevous.

Thinking it'd be nice to play the piano and sing to God, I tried that. I ain't good at playing and singing simultaneously so I don't usually do that, but I did it anyway that day, and surprisingly, it wasn't too shabby an effort!

As I was playing and singing, I was reminded that once, not too long ago, I asked for a glimpse into God's heart. Then, I immediately got what I asked for. That glimpse. And I thought maybe I ought to ask for it again, that I may pray for what is in His heart, instead of going on about what I want.

I did.

And His answer?

Haiti.
Wars and conflicts.

How foolish I was to pray only for myself!
How much more selfish can I be?

How could I have been so disturbed by the 12012010 earthquake in Haiti then and not continue interceding for them on their behalf?
How could I go on and on and on about my selfish vexations and not about something that grips and wrenches and twists God's heart?

How could I have seen and not be moved?

Maybe I would have seen better if my eyes were shut.
Maybe I would have heard better if my heart were beating together with God's.

I need to re-align myself with my God.

Do you?

Search your heart.
Difficult, no?
How terrible that even we could lie even to ourselves!

So I find one of the easiest ways into a person's heart is what he\she speaks and prays for, for words, the utterances of the tongue betray the desires of the being.
The tongue is the tattletale of the heart.

What is important to you?

Do you ache for what He longs for,
cry for what brings Him sorrow?
Do you rejoice over what He loves?

Do you need to re-align yourself with God?

Will you re-align yourself with God?



(BTW, I wasn't disturbed at all while communing with God. My family came home a good twenty minutes after we were finished.)

Insecurities: we all have them & we all have to deal with them.

Each of us are made differently, possessing different levels of various skills, some of us are better at some things, and some of us are better at some other things. That's probably a given. And there's nothing wrong with that. Each of us are born with different aptitudes and inclinations, each of us are presented different opportunites of varying intensities to hone our proficiencies and capabilities, and each of us have different potential scales of different maxx levels or excellency limits. It's okay.

The problem comes when it gets to us so much that it isn't okay anymore. We begin to think thoughts that throw us headlong into a depressing kamikaze (ie. self-destruct) spiral. "Don't ask me. Ask Him\Her; (s)he's better than me", "(s)he's better at this than I am; my position is in jeopardy", "Does he really like me? It can't be. I think he likes her more", "how come I can't get a boy\girlfriend? Is something wrong with me?", etc. Sound familiar?

If you've had bouts of insecurity, you're not alone, honey, I'm right there with you.

But not only are insecurities a catapult of massive proportions, hurling gigantuan projectiles at us, it has a concievable chance of leading us to break Commandment numero diez, "thou shalt not covet... anything that belongs to your neighbour" (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Jealousy and envy at another's talent and accomplishments should never be allowed to take root for it could bring about disastrous consequences. If movies were anything to go by, then meanness, backstabbing and hurtful remarks, disunity would be in the forseeable future.

Insecurity ain't good, and we all know that.
But somehow, we can't seem to shake it.

I've been meaning to write about this for the longest of times, but I just never could find the answer, or never was satisfied with what I had learnt, most likely because I didn't quite understand what it means to "have confidence in God".

I now do with the help and blessing of Robert J. Morgan and Psalm 27.

Morgan summed up his ideas in the "Cure for Insecurity" with the repetitive use of a single phrase ONE THING. And that spurred me onto mine own investigations into its usage as chronicled in the Bible.

That particular phrase isn't used much, methinks it is precisely because of its exclusivist nature: it is serious business to stop and proclaim that only one thing matters or is required. Much thought must have been put into the pre-exclamation phase.

The more notable times it was used was when Jesus bade the rich young man to sell all he has and give to the poor, that he shall have treasure in heaven, and to go, follow Him, for that was the one thing he lacked (Mark 10:17-22), and to Martha, teaching her that only one thing is necessary: that which Mary has chosen (Luke 10:38-42). Paul too uttered that phrase, saying it is but one thing he does: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, pressing on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called him heavenward in Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).

So are there many one things?
Or just one?
Is the antidote for insecurity a whole array of prescriptive syrups and tablets?
Or just a single pill?

Psalm 27 starts off on a high, somewhat boastful and cocky, rather confident tone:
(the paragraphs beginning with the big green "one thing"s are Morgan's)

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

ONE THING I KNOW the LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

ONE THING I DESIRE that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

And it is here, at the junction between verses 6 and 7, that the tone of the psalm shifts. All of a sudden, it is as though David remembers moments of weakness, fits of doubt flit here and there in his mind... insecurities... So he cries:

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

ONE THING I NEED hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

ONE THING I'LL DO I will stay confident of this — that I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

And that is how David deals with his insecurities.

The cure is a single PILL:

Pray, commune with God always, regardless.
Remember the Great I AM, His statutes, His character, His works.
Look where you are headed, keep in mind your purpose.
Not forgetting to Live as befits who you are: a servant and child, a soldier and friend of the Most High King.

Nowhere in the psalm does David dwell on that which he lacks. Nowhere does he dwell on his predicaments.
Instead, his words betray a trust, a reliance, a relationship with an entity who loves and cares as much as He judges and forgives.

Only one thing is needed.
Only one is required.
Only one is crucial.

And if that one thing is not present, we will most likely be plagued by insecurities, like locusts to a field.

The cure to insecurity is to have confidence in God.

And to have confidence in God is

ONE THING:

To abide in God Almighty.

I actually have many many things to write about; so much has been hoarded up in my mind and in my heart! But writing them takes up quite a bit of time, which I don't have much of, and a whole lot of effort, even though it brings me great happiness because when I write, I feel God's smile. Anyway, I shall note each thing down on a piece of paper, and write about them all in time.

Last Sunday (010210), I joined two others from the Youth (we call the Youth Service in our church The Tackle Box, stemming from us being called to become "fishers of men") prayer ministry in praying and interceding for the Youths. We usually gather to pray in the prayer room just outside the Worship Hall about 30 mins before TTB service begins, but without any formal stop time (sometimes, we pray a good half hour into the service!)

Though our numbers are not massively impressive, there are actually about seven or eight prayer warriors\intercessors from TTB for TTB, I feel the ministry is good because I know God is there with us, listening to us, I know Jesus is praying with us, seated at the right hand of the Father, I know the Holy Spirit is groaning and interceding through us, for us.

It was interesting, what was prayed for last Sunday morning. Interesting because all three of us, though there wasn't any prior agreement nor consensus to pray for a particular item or topic, we found ourselves crying out to God for pretty much one something that weighed and was pressed very heavily on our hearts:

sin
vices
temptations
falling away from God

And for some reason, as I listened to the others, fervent in prayer, as I too prayed, I heard God saying that what we were doing, our prayers, our psalms, our lamentations were beautiful. And so, while the subject of prayer was painful and potentially discouraging, it became wonderful, sacred and encouraging.

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
~ Matthew 18: 19-20

This is a very commonly cited passage that many use to implore us to pray with one another, to pray together. But exactly what meaning is packaged in these two verses? Does it mean that numbers in prayer count? Does it mean that if I pull a friend to pray with me about the same thing, even if God doesn't want to, He's got to do what we ask?

There are various differing views on this passage. What follows here is what I have gathered and tried to make sense of thus far.

Let's unpack the package.

Praying Together

There is something quite fascinating about Biblical ideas concerning Mathematics.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven..."
It was written in the Old Testament that "one (could) chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight" (Deut 32: 30a). Strange ratio, no? It isn't a straight linear proportion that we find here: one to a thousand, and hence two to two thousand. No. Here, it is one to a thousand, and two to ten thousand!

So maybe there is some kind of power that comes with numbers, albeit not necessarily proportionately!

But here's the catch:
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven..."
While there are a number of Greek words that have been used in the Bible, they don't all imply the exact same thing, so it is useful, in fact, crucial to know which is used when.
Here, the word is συμφωνέω (sumphōneō), and it means to sound together; to be harmonious. The Amplified Bible refers to this "agreeing" as to "harmonize together, make a symphony together".

Ray Stedman uses the analogy of a piano:

In other words, he says that "where two or three of you sound the same note, not by comparing notes beforehand, but simply, voluntarily, spontaneously, sounding this out, it shall be done by (the) Father which is in heaven" because that is when the "mind of the Spirit" is "determined".

That is one view vocalised by one camp of thought.

Law & Instruction

On flipside, some people say that these verses must be read "in context", that is, with reference to the preceding verses (vv. 15-20).

Here, Jesus was giving instructions, how to go about restoring a wayward brother (or sister). And with the word for "thing" in "anything" to be the Greek πρᾶγμα (pragma), which stems from a primary verb which means to practise; to perform repeatedly or habitually, a certain deed; business; matter; thing; work, "anything" must therefore mean kinds of judicial decisions or corporate discipline.

In other words, this passage is spoken with reference to the authority and methods of the church specifically; it has little or even nothing to do with prayer!

I don't know which perspective is true and which is problematic, I'll admit.
But I have found a third lens, and to that, I subscribe:

Humility, Mercy & Love

Let's look at Matthew 18, the chapter in its entirety.

It begins with a question:
"Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Jesus' answer to that question was an unspoken one. His response made the disciples realise that the answer to their question did not matter. What mattered was whether or not they'd be in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Their question betrayed a desire for individual greatness over others, betrayed a proud heart that displeased God. Temptations, like wealth, power, fame, lust (Great4), all these keep us from understanding what was important, all these keep us from entering the Kingdom of Heaven, all these keep us from God.

And the remedy is humility

Jesus continues his answer with the parable of the lost sheep, instructions on how to address a wayward brother (within which our two verses are located), and the parable of the unforgiving and wicked servant.

Do you see a common thread in all three passages, a thread that in fact runs from the beginning of the chapter to its very last word?

Why would the man leave 99 to search for that 1 lost sheep?
And why, when found, did he rejoice over that 1 so greatly?

Why would Jesus instruct us to repeatedly attempt to gain over a wayward brother?
And why would He say that if all else fails, to treat the wayward as a Gentile and a tax collector?

Why would the master release and forgive the indebted servant?
And why was he so furious when the pardoned indebted refuse to pardon another like him?

Why would Jesus spend time to remedy his disciples' misconstructions?

Why did the chapter end with forgiveness?

The answer is Mercy & Love.

Mercy is at the very heart of God.
It is because of mercy that the man searches for that 1 lost sheep.
It is because of mercy that we are instructed to repeatedly advise a wayward brother.
It is because of mercy that the master would release and forgive the indebted servant.

Love is who God is.
It is because of love that the man rejoices so awesomely.
It is because of love that we treat a stubborn wayward as a non-believer.
It is because of love that Jesus spoke all He spoke.

Because our Father is merciful,
because He loves us so very much,
He sent Jesus to die on that splintered cross for our sins and transgressions
that we may be reconciled with Him again,
as it should always have been.

The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the one who truly understands the heart of God, a do-er of the word,
one who fears the Lord
one who shows mercy to others (which was the reason for all the explicit instruction)
one who shows love to others through forgiveness (just as we too were forgiven).

I think Jesus summarized it in Matthew 22: 37-39 quite succintly, saying:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."