I drove into the church’s parking lot to deliver our valley’s Christian newsletter to a church new to me. There in the parking lot were two signs by the parking spaces closest to the front of the church. “Reserved for Pastor ____” and next to it, “Reserved for Sister _____” (same last name, obviously the Pastor’s wife).

I smiled in amusement and immediately thought, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”

Is there anything wrong with what I saw? Most likely not. After all, before we moved I attended a mega church where a whole section of the parking lot near the offices was reserved for pastors and staff. Reasonable.

But picture this church’s parking lot. It’s less than 30 parking spaces. If you park farthest away, you walk maybe 300 paces. But hey, maybe there’s very good reasons for this, I don’t know.

Is this a big deal? No! But I smiled in amusement for so often we in subtle ways live out “The first shall be first and the last–too bad!” Can I think of something right now? Well, maybe the next time someone is trying to get out of a parking lot into crowded traffic, I could let them sneak in front of me (and risk the scowl of the person in the car behind me). Maybe the next time someone cuts me off, I can resist getting upset. Maybe the next time service at the restaurant is slow, I can be gracious.

Is God glorified through those things? Well, no one knows I’m a Christian so He doesn’t get credit. But at the least, it’s molding me into a more patient person and who knows, if I say, “God bless you” to the waiter, he’ll notice (especially if I give a generous tip!)

The first will be last and the last will be first. Something to consider for our walk with Jesus.