I Am a Zero
I saw a video on social media a few weeks ago about a student named Johnny. His teacher asked him what he would like to be when he grew up and he answered, “I am already what I want to be. I am a zero.” His teacher was concerned, but he went on to explain. “I am a zero because I add value to those I stand behind and I take nothing away from anybody else.”
Ok. This is probably a little deep from an elementary school student and not really a true story, but it’s an amazing idea.
Nobody wants to be called a zero. The world tells us to move on to the next digit, to be number 1. We are told to build our platform, make our names known, take all the credit and recognition, and make sure people know all that we’ve accomplished and who we are. But the gospel gives us a different image. It tells us that there is something beautiful in becoming less so that Christ can become more.
A zero by itself is nothing, but put it behind the number 1 and it becomes 10, add another zero and it becomes 100, add a few more and the value becomes more than we can imagine. The zero hasn’t changed, but what it stands behind has changed and the zero contributes to that. That is the message I got from the video.
When I stand behind the light of Christ I don’t have to be number 1. I don’t have to make everything about me. I don’t have to have the spotlight. I don’t have to receive the credit. I don’t have to be noticed. I can be the zero. The question isn’t how big can I make myself, but how much bigger I can make the love of Christ in my life. I want people, when they look at me, to see Christ, to feel the love of God, to know that my story and my struggles have been shaped and changed by that unconditional love.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 (John the Baptist talking about Jesus) There is a story about John the Baptist in the bible. He had a witness and a ministry before Jesus, but he used that ministry to point beyond himself. He used his voice, not for his own recognition, but to point to the one who was to come.
When the ministry of Jesus began to increase, John didn’t say, “Hey, what about me?” Instead he was willing to become less so he could point to Christ who was so much more.
Christianity isn’t about making everyone else smaller so we can feel bigger; it’s about allowing Christ to become bigger in our lives. The world asks, “How do I get ahead?”
Jesus asks, “How do you serve?” The world asks, “How can I get recognized?” Jesus asks, “How can you be a servant to all?” The world asks, “How can I protect my importance?”
Jesus says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”
So I am going to be a zero, not because I have no value, but because I want my value to be found in what I give to others to help them become something more. Being a zero doesn’t take anything away from who I am. In my experience, in my ministry and life, I have become more than I could have ever hoped for because of who Christ is in me.
A zero becomes more significant when it is connected to something bigger. I am not required to be less, but to share more – more mercy, more grace, more compassion, more character, more peace, and more love.
Don Long, Jr.
Senior Pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1212 Calhoun St., Macomb, IL 61455
