In God’s kingdom, stay on the bottom rung

In the eyes of the world, we are told that if you want to get anywhere in life you need to climb the ladder of success. We are told things like, “The ladder of success is never crowded at the top,” “the rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon” and “just remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”

Climb the ladder of success and you will make lots of money, you will have a fancy title, you will have prestige and you will have a life of comfort. That may be the view of the world for success, but success in the Kingdom of God is entirely different.

Recently I received a great revelation from the Lord. He told me that to be successful in his kingdom, you need to get on the first rung of the ladder and let him lift you up. You see, my friends — the first rung of the ladder is a place of humility.

The book of James tells us what God will do with a humble heart. James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Psalm 31:1, confirms that promise, “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up.”

God knows when we are on the first rung that we will have to continually “look up” to him. He is the one who started a good work in us and he will finish it. Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

What many Christians do is try to keep going up the ladder under their own strength, effort and works. Pride sets in and they start looking down on others who aren’t as far up the ladder as they are. They become critical, judgmental and complacent.

Then they start to become weary. By the time they get toward the top, exhaustion sets in and they get “rung out.”

What does the Bible tell us about pride? Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 29:23, “A man’s pride will bring him low.” They become like Humpty Dumpty and they have a great fall. Another quote might fit in here. “You don’t know a ladder has splinters until you slide back down it.” Ouch!

Am I saying you won’t ever fall off the first rung? No, not at all, but the fall won’t be nearly as far. And, you won’t have to pick out near as many splinters. Do you think Jesus lived his life on the first rung? I believe he did. He would not ask us to do something he wouldn’t do. He was the one, after all, who said, “to be first you need to be last, to be the greatest you need to be the least, to find your life you need to lose if for my sake; I am gentle and lowly in heart.”

On Good Friday he was lifted up onto a cross. It was there that he was “rung” out and died for the sins of the world. He was laid in a tomb and three days later he rose (was lifted up) from the dead.

That my friends, is the good news of the Gospel. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

After telling the disciples to wait for power to be a witness for him, he ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Acts 1:9, “Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” From there he would send back the Holy Spirit to us to continue to lift us up.

So, the next time you look around at this messed up world and begin to feel “rung” out, just remember this scripture, Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Hasselstrom is an evangelist with Cross Tied Ministries.