But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. – Mark 10:44-45
God wants you to be great. But your greatness will not be found merely in your personal achievements, resources, influence, popularity, or any other metric in which you strive to be first. Your greatness will come when you strive to put others first. God wants you to be great … as a servant. In the world we live in, the more people who serve you, the greater you are. But in the kingdom of God, the greater you are, the more people you serve. It’s not about getting more for yourself from others, but giving more of yourself to others. That may seem like giving up a lot. Until we consider Christmas. Until we think of Jesus coming to us and what He came to do. Until our hearts are moved by how much Jesus gave up to serve us. In light of all that we have gained, it doesn’t seem like giving up anything at all. He is a beautiful picture of both our model and motivation for the greatness that comes through serving. Jesus showed us what it looks like to have a servant’s heart and then melts our own self-serving hearts so that we can be great in His kingdom. We long to be first. We long to be great. God is in favor of both of those things. He just measures them in ways that are radically different than the world. He measures greatness in the finished work of Jesus and in every act of His children that expresses that same kind of servant love towards those in need of it. Christmas is a reminder that Jesus came to serve and calls us to serve. So… Be great today. Be like Jesus today.
