Muhammad Ali was famous for crying out “I AM THE GREATEST!”
The remarkable thing about each of us is that we would all like to be known, or at least remembered, as a great person. That means different things to each of us, but underneath the surface we all have an image of what greatness is for us and are trying desperately to move toward that goal.
Greatness for us is a combination of our values, our hopes, our expectations, and our deepest longings. It’s a blend of what success and fulfillment are for us, shaped by the people whom we would call great persons.
Greatness, Jesus style, is available to all of us. We don’t need to wait on other people to recognize it. As a matter of fact, in becoming great in His eyes, we may not achieve the world’s description of greatness. But that will matter little when we get to heaven; we’ll be with Him!
So what does true greatness look like? Jesus described it in the Gospel of Mark. The disciples were disputing who was the greatest among them. So, Jesus sat them down for a little lesson on greatness…
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37)
So, what is a great person?
1. A great person is one who is willing to be last because Jesus is first.
When the United States of America began the Apollo project to put a man on the moon, our motivations were not entirely scientific. Our bid to put a man on the moon was nothing more than a response to a string of second place finishes to the Soviet space program! So it was with great pride that the American people watched and listened on July 20, 1969 as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon and spoke those famous words, “That’s one small step for man… One giant leap for mankind.” We were first!
Even in Christianity, we see this craving for first place. But Jesus gives honor to those who choose to be last so others can be first. Putting Jesus first and others first is a mark of true greatness.
3. A great person is one who is a servant because Jesus is his Master.
Jesus described greatness from a new perspective. Instead of using people, we are to serve them. Jesus’ mission was to serve others and to give His life away. A great person has a servant’s heart. They don’t approach life expecting high positions, honors, and special privileges. They instead for ways to help others.
Every Christian is to be a minister (servant). Some Christians resist the idea of ministry, not because it’s too awesome a designation. But because they see what some ‘professional’ ministers have to do and they’re not sure they want to pay the price. Your schedule is not your own; you can’t reject the call of human need; your home life is often interrupted by people’s problems; your life is not your own. Frankly, some don’t want any part of that kind of demanding life. The point, if we’re honest, is that no one, clergy or church member, wants to be a servant of people. Yet that’s where greatness is revealed.
3. A great person is one who loves the insignificant because Jesus is significant.
The child of Jesus’ example is symbolic of all the little people of life who need us and from whom we can receive nothing but the assurance that whatever we do for them, we have done for Him. Not a bad promise!
If we welcome people who are important (great) to Jesus, we are actually welcoming Him. What emerges is a new principle for greatness. A person is not great because of what he or she has achieved or accumulated or invented. It is established by the greatness God sets on the person.
We are to receive God’s people as we do children, with no thought of their accomplishments, their influence, their fame, or their abilities, but simply because they are His children. This rules out seeking the powerful or influential for what they can do for us. This is a warning about neglecting the simple, the humble, and the ordinary.
Are you working on being a great person? Do it Jesus-style!
You can also read some of my similar articles: Too Many Chiefs and Not Enough Indians, Served or Be Served, Serve One Another in Love.
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