Monday, June 23, 2008

The Proof of Greatness

We've kind of had a little series going on here the past few posts. We've talked about the proof of spiritual growth and the proof of love, lets finish this up by talking about the proof of greatness. In Luke 9:46-48 the disciples were arguing about who was greater and who would be the greatest in the coming Kingdom. It seems like that was a recurring theme for them. It's pretty much a recurring theme for all of us isn't it. We like to self-promote. We want to win. We want to look good and be great. Jesus taught the discples a lesson with a little child. He knew their thoughts. By the way, He always knows our thoughts. He knew that there was pride in their hearts. He showed them that the way to be great was to humble themselves and serve others. In verse 48 He says when we serve others we are actually serving Christ. Then He said some pretty powerful words. In the Living Bible it reads like this "Your care for others is the measure of your greatness." How many times do we measure our greatness with a different standard. We may measure greatness by the size of our house, or the success of our career or how many people showed up to church on Sunday! But that is not the proof of greatness. The proof of greatness is are we serving others? The proof of greatness is are we laying our lives down for the people that Jesus laid His life down for? Jesus's greatest success was when He went to the cross and laid down his life for us. That is how we become truly great, by following His example. I love what verse 48 says in the Message version "You become great by accepting not asserting. Your spirit nor your size makes the difference..." Lifegate church, our greatness is measured by our spirit not our size. Are we laying our lives down for our community? Are we loving and serving one another? Are we caring for those in need? Who could you lay your life down for today? Let's talk about how we can serve our community better individually or as a church.

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