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b'READ: ROMANS 8:12-17; PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11; COLOSSIANS 1:15-20\\n\\n\\n\\nDo you have any siblings? And if so, are you the oldest, youngest, or somewhere in the middle? In biblical times, birth order mattered a lot. If you were a firstborn son (sorry daughters) you would inherit the birthright from your father. This could be anything from sheep and property to a kingdom if your father was a king.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut even though this was the standard in the ancient world, giving a birthright to the oldest sibling was not God\\u2019s standard. In fact, God often elevated a younger sibling above the oldest. Even with the first siblings, we hear that Abel\\u2019s offering pleased God, while his older brother Cain\\u2019s offering did not. We also see this theme when Joseph was elevated to a position of power over his ten older brothers and over all of Egypt. Not to mention Joseph\\u2019s father Jacob was the younger twin, yet Jacob was chosen to be a patriarch of the nation of Israel.\\n\\n\\n\\nIn Colossians 1:15, Jesus is called \\u201cthe firstborn over all creation.\\u201d As God the Son, Jesus is God the Father\\u2019s \\u201cone and only Son\\u201d (John 3:16), and therefore He is considered the firstborn. So, according to Israelite standards, this would put Him in place to inherit the Father\\u2019s power and authority. Jesus certainly does have all power and authority\\u2014He said, \\u201cAll authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth\\u201d (Matthew 28:18). But, similar to some of the Old Testament stories, Jesus subverted this narrative as well. Jesus is God, and He is King over all, but He also became a servant. He taught, \\u201cthe last will be first\\u201d (Matthew 20:16), totally opposite of what people would expect.\\n\\n\\n\\nJesus even humbled Himself to a death and punishment fit for the worst kind of criminal. The King of kings, who deserves to be served and sacrificed to, loves us so much that He became the sacrifice for us. And then, Jesus flipped the narrative again by not staying dead. With His resurrection, Jesus overcame what people expected to be the end, and He became \\u201cthe firstborn from the dead\\u201d (Colossians 1:18). Now, He invites us to become coheirs with Him, to share in His sufferings as we lay down our lives for each other, and to share in His glory when He returns to raise us from the dead and make all things new (Romans 8:17). \\u2022 Naomi Zylstra\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Why do you think God often works in unexpected, counter-cultural ways?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 If you want to dig deeper, read Genesis 4:1-5; 25:19-26; 45:4-8; Revelation 17:14; 19:16.\\n\\n\\n\\nThe Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (CSB)'