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Greatness and Humility - Matthew 18
Greatness and Humility - Matthew 18
Who IS the greatest in the kingdom of God? Out of all the people in Galilee, out of all the people who came to see Jesus, out of all the disciples that followed Jesus, the apostles were chosen. Is that not enough? No, they constantly argued about which of them was the greatest (cp. Mt 20:20-28; 23:11; Mk 9:34; 10:35-45; Lk 9:46-48; 22:24-27).
What IS greatness? How do we define it? How do we measure it? Great in WHAT? Great in influence? In encouragement? In forgiving? In mercy? In benevolence? The world’s goals would include being rich, famous, powerful, popular, etc. Some are in fact ‘great’ at accomplishing such goals, and yet they are extremely poor towards God. This hits at the very heart of man’s purpose in life.
We are stewards, for not only do all our possessions come by the permissive will of God, but also our abilities. Our very lives are totally dependent upon Him (Acts 17:28). We make plans and purposes only to have the circumstances of life nullify them. (read Prov. 19:21).
Under the law of Moses, they were warned to remember that “In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut. 8:16-18).
What do you have that you did not receive (1Cor. 4:7). This was said in the context of arguing about who was ‘the greatest teacher’. Yet, Paul affirms that even in THAT role, it is not about being ‘greater’, but about being faithful to God. Living up to one’s ability will bring a ‘well done, thou good and faithful servant’ from our Lord. Of whom much is given, much is required. Yet, having done all that is required, we are still unworthy of God’s love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness (Luke 17:10)
We are servants, servants of God. Let us strive to serve one another. Paul said: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4)
Are you great at putting others first?
Hugh DeLong
