GREATNESS AMONG THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF FAITH
“But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister” (MARK 10:43).
From the words of Jesus to His disciples, we may properly conclude that there is nothing wrong with the desire to be great provided: (1) we seek the right kind of greatness; (2) we allow God to decide what greatness is; (3) we are willing to pay the full price that greatness demands, and (4) we are content to wait for the judgment of God to settle the whole matter at last!

It is vitally important, however, that we know what Christ meant when He used the word great in relation to men, and His meaning cannot be found in the lexicon or dictionary. Only when viewed in its broad theological setting is it understood aright. No one whose heart has had a vision of God, however brief or imperfect that vision may have been, will ever consent to think of himself as being great.

All this being true, still God Himself applies the word great to men, as when the angel tells Zacharias that the son who is to be born “shall be great in the sight of the Lord.”

Obviously, there are two kinds of greatness recognized in the Scriptures: an absolute, uncreated greatness belonging to God alone, and a relative and finite greatness achieved by or bestowed upon certain friends of God and sons of faith, who by obedience and self-denial sought to become as much like God as possible.

It is obvious that Jesus was not impressed with the idea of greatness inherent in the political power and dominion held by “the princes of the Gentiles.”

“It shall not be so among you!” He told his followers.

A. W. Tozer