A Giving Thing
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What makes us great in the eyes of others?
Is it success? Is it something we do better than anyone else? Is it attitude? Or is it something else?
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:25-28
When the disciples of Jesus sought to be made great in his coming kingdom, he told them they didn't know what they were asking for.
I think it is funny that two of them had their mom ask for them. Were they pretending to be humble or did they just have an ambitious mom who wanted glory for her boys?
In the Kingdom of God, greatness looks a lot different than it does here on earth. It is a giving thing.
Greatness is defined in terms of service. Those who give the most of themselves are considered the greatest, while those who fail to place themselves in the service of others are the least among us.
There are glimpses of greatness here in this life. We call those who go out in defense of those in need heroes.
We give thanks for those heroes for without them, we would be totally ignorant of God's grace and light shining in the darkness.
We can be those heroes. We can seek out the lonely, the lost, the hungry and hurt and we can be there for them, to serve them with love and kindness. Not to give them a handout, but to truly care for them.
The true heroes among us, the truly great among us, are doing their thing quietly, without fanfare, without seeking glory. They are the examples of how to live and how to die in the service of others, from family and friends to total strangers.
I lost a dear friend last week who was one of those quiet heroes, who left us all a little better off having known him.
When we come upon them, the great among us, we may not recognize them as such, because they would be the last to claim such a title.
They are too busy giving of themselves and encouraging others, with a smile, to join them.
So, yes, it is something else, to be great, something special. It is love.
More to come...