Tag Archives: a little child

WHAT IS GREATNESS?

Christian Life, ,

WHAT IS GREATNESS?

An argument started among them as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside Him. Then He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you – he is the greatest.” Luke 9:46-48

What was this “greatness” that the disciples were so diligently pursuing and so persistently quarrelling about? What did they want? Position, power, popularity? Were they associating greatness with an important place in this “kingdom” Jesus talked about? They certainly did not get their ideas of greatness from being with Him. He showed them what gentleness and humility was about, which was not what they understood about greatness.

What was it about a child that fitted Jesus’ idea of greatness? Smallness, weakness, vulnerability, defencelessness, needing the love, protection, and care of a father, carefree and trusting? According to the Message Bible, greatness in the kingdom of God is not about asserting but accepting – receiving because we have nothing to give. This is what is special about this father/child relationship that God offers us. All other religions demand that the worshipper does something and gives something. They must satisfy the often wicked and unpredictable demands of their god to prove their devotion and their worth. Jesus demands nothing. All He asks is for us to trust in the One who makes promises to us and gave His son for us. Elsewhere in the gospels He speaks of “receiving” the kingdom just as a little child eagerly receives a gift.

A child does not know that he is humble. Humility is being aware of how small, weak, and incapable we are of being anything without God. All these other things that the disciples were trying to prove were a vapour, a ghost that did not exist. Jesus was saying, “Just be real, man. Your size or age does not prove anything. Inside you are no bigger or more powerful than a child. You may shout louder or hit harder, but the outcome is the same – zero.”

We humans were in a dilemma. In Romans 5:6ff, Paul said that, when we were powerless (without strength) Christ died for us. We could do nothing and add nothing to His rescue plan. Now that we have been rescued, we can still add nothing. All He asks is that we trust Him and follow His instructions. It’s not about competing with anyone else. “What is that to you? Follow me,” is Jesus’ blunt response to our demand, “What about him?” it’s not your business.

So why should we not compete for “greatness”? God does not measure greatness by how important we are in the eyes of the world, but by how much we care about the people that the world despises and rejects. In His day, children were “nobodies”. And He blessed them and said that they were the “great” ones in the kingdom.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – GREATNESS IS DOWN, NOT UP

Bible Study, ,

GREATNESS IS DOWN, NOT UP

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” Mark 9:33-37

The disciples had not yet learned to live in the realm of the kingdom of God as Jesus did. They were still very much a part of this world system with its understanding of power as force and control. In complete contrast to the yoke of Jesus, they contended for top political place in a kingdom that already had its hierarchy in place which Jesus had no intention of overthrowing.

By contrast, the kingdom of God drew its power from everything opposite to what they understood. Leadership and greatness flows from servant-hood. Power lies in gentleness and humility and love overcomes fear, light drives out darkness and government begins on the inside, in one’s heart first, by submitting to and embracing the rule of God over one’s life first.

By engaging in the on-going power struggle, the disciples were feeding the old selfish, greedy nature that reflected the darkness still in their own souls. It was obvious that they needed the transformation of the new heart but that experience for them lay beyond the cross and resurrection when they could finally “see” for themselves what God’s reign in the hearts really meant.

Jesus continued, patiently to sow the seed of truth because the Holy Spirit’s role in their hearts was to bring that truth to life in the on-going experiences of their lives. He would remind them of Jesus’ words and open the eyes of their hearts to see what they could not see now. Jesus did not despair of their “getting it “. He continued to lay the foundation of the real yet unseen kingdom in them into which they would finally be catapulted on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Their lack of understanding meant loss for Jesus at this point. He would have to endure the cross experience without their understanding or support. He knew that but it did not faze Him because He was fully confident of the Holy Spirit’s partnership in the ultimate success of His mission.