Who Is The Greatest?

Often times I think of the greatest people being those that are out on the forefront of the battle.  The fiery preacher, the traveling evangelist, the great missionary.  But I had to again think of the words that our Lord spoke to his disciples in the 9th chapter of Mark.  Typical humans, the disciples had gotten carried away arguing who was the greatest and best follower of Christ.  Jesus sat them all down and gave them a very basic object lesson.  He placed a child in their midst, and said: “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.” Mark 9:35-37

Such a powerful lesson.  I know that we all know (in our heads) that the greatest people aren’t necessarily those out in the forefront, but I think sometimes we forget what the phrase “a Minister of the Gospel” means.  The Oxford American Dictionary defines the word simply:  “attending to the needs of others.”  Simply a servant.  And if you back up even farther, the word Christian means “a follower of Christ,” and if we are truly following His example, we are going to be serving others.

I have also often felt the misconception that Jesus was popular.  Well, he drew big crowds, didn’t he?  He had to run away just to get some prayer-time in...  So popularity is not too bad, eh?   Well, I have had to ask myself: “How popular was Christ when he was hanging on the cross?  What celebrity would the crowds allow him (virtually on a whim) to be crucified?  If Christ was so popular, why didn’t the masses intervene on his behalf?  Even his disciples fled; his trusted friends.  Is this the iconic view of a “great” person?

Maybe God has called you as a prayer warrior, maybe he’s simply called you to serve your elderly neighbor.  Maybe your current ministry is something as “lowly” as simply shining as a light in your sin-darkened workplace.  Does it make any difference to God?  Does he determine our “greatness” by how many people around the world know of our “Christian prowess?”  As God so clearly told Samuel at the anointing of King David: “...Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7  True greatness is based completely upon our lives bringing glory and honor to God.

So the next time you find yourself envying those Christians that get all the “press,” maybe its time to reevaluate what we are running the race for.  Is it for God’s glory, or our own?

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“Does the place you’re called to labor

Seem too small and little known?

It is great if God is in it,

And He’ll not forget His own.

Little is much when God is in it!

Labor not for wealth or fame.

There’s a crown—and you can win it,

If you go in Jesus’ Name.”