True GreatnessTrue greatness is not found in being qualified but rather in being a servant. This is what Jesus said to His disciples:
Mark 9:35 35 And sitting down, He called the twelve and said toOne of the sermons in our preaching lab today was on this text in Mark nine on true greatness. What a fitting reminder for us seminary guys studying to understand and know God’s Word. It was brought to our attention that Christ does not condemn the desire to be great. Rather, he redirects and redefines the proper desire that we as believers must have to be someone great.
them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of
all."
The desire to have the biggest church, to have the most degrees, to have a well-behaved family and a host of other desires are all some of which we face. Yet the desire for these is not bad in and of themselves. Yet, Jesus takes the desire to be great and redefines it, not in terms of numbers or success or prosperity, but he redefines it with humility and service.
Jesus says that true greatness is being last of all and servant of all. It is noteworthy to mention that in the Greek text, the “of all” is found before the nouns. This is for emphasis. It could be rendered, “if anyone desires to be first, he shall be of everyone, last of all, and, of everyone, servant of all.
May this be true of each of us as we all have the desire to be someone great. May we be known by our humility and servant’s heart as we endeavor to be models for Christ’s body just as Paul was to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 11:1).
Your pastor and friend,
Geoff Kirkland
Thursday, October 18, 2007
