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The Paradox of Greatness
- by John on March 26th, 2006
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Something deep inside me wants to be remembered by future generations for my service to Christ, like the great men I read about as a child — Martin Luther, George Muller, C. H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, and the Apostles themselves. None of them had aspirations of greatness, but God made them great.
Why pick these guys over more popular men?
Great men of the world affect men’s lives; great men of God affect men’s souls.
A poet once penned, “Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Napoleon Bonaparte came to the same conclusion:
Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.
Those millions know one thing: the words “Well done!” are far more gratifying when a man hears it from the mouth of his Creator.
What is greatness anyway, and who determines its presence?
An evil man is buried and a good man beside him; only the lives they have touched can tell them apart. What do I mean?
Every tale of greatness describes an individual whose actions and circumstances, when fully realized, portrayed remarkable character and yielded significant consequences in the eyes of those who noticed. In other words, greatness is in the eye of the beholder.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, though, I must submit my subjectivity to His objectivity; to see things the way that He sees them. What does He behold as greatness? Very simply stated, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Matt. 20:26)
Am I great?
First, I must realize that feeling great is not a prerequisite for being great. Periodically I grow quite perplexed because I do not feel that I am achieving greatness. God isn’t blessing this or that venture. I’m not doing this or that enough. God is not using me as I had planned.
Perhaps I should be more disturbed that I am not on the road that Christ says leads to greatness—servanthood. Serve the one you’re with.
I don’t know about you but that hurts my pride. I want to be remembered. I want to achieve grand accomplishments that affect those who come after me.
However, the apostle Paul opened my eyes a bit when I read, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)
In other words, as a servant of Christ, a man is great who completes all the good works that God prepared for him to do. This requires a life of submission and sacrifice, a life of love and service.
Helen Keller said it best when she said, “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.”
So how do I become great?
Don’t ask that question again. Rather, focus attention and activity on the things that God is blessing today. Serve Him faithfully in the little things. In due time, He will bring more responsibility. “Responsibility,” said Winston Churchill, “is the price of greatness.”
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