Everyone wants to be great. But few are willing to become nothing in order to get there. Greatness comes to a few who are able to purge themselves of themselves. One cannot be great and mediocre at the same time. Neither can one be great and self-serving at the same time. There seems to be two types of greatness. Cultural greatness and true greatness. Cultural greatness is determined by what is valued by the community on any given day. This may be measured by entertainment awards, sports achievements, financial accomplishments, or any other number of temporal standards. True greatness is determined by eternal merit. A truly great person is one who is humble, generous, forgiving, kind, merciful, gracious, courageous. Great people positively impact others by leaving a personal legacy, not just a famous impression. The road to greatness is not an elevated staircase rising above and easily seen by others. It is a servant’s path that runs under the feet of those who need to be lifted up. This is counter-cultural. Since it is not celebrated as the norm, I think we need to focus on it a little more. Jesus was/is the greatest. So it may be useful to know what He said about the topic. O one occasion He said to His disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and the men of high position exercise power over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28) He used His own personal experience to enlighten them on the true path to greatness. Greatness, according to Christ does not have to look down in order to see people, but up. Jesus not only used Himself to explain what greatness looked like, He also spoke of other great people. Here is what He said about His earthly cousin, John the Baptizer, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John.” John was not highly valued among the leaders and other ‘great people’ of his time. But he was great in the kingdom of God. Jesus recognized this, but he went on to say in the same thought, “but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he [John].” (Luke 7:28) So, no one is greater than John the Baptizer, but the least in the kingdom is greater than him? That makes me want to know what his ‘secret to greatness’ was. John had one of the most important tasks ever. He was to go ahead of Jesus and make people aware of the coming judgment and the coming Messiah. It isn’t the kind of role they give medals for... at least not on a televised awards show. So what exactly made him great? We don’t know a lot about John’s life, but we do have some of his quotes. One of these quotes is very telling, and gives us a glimpse into his philosophy of life and ministry. He said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) So it is apparently through the act of decreasing, while Christ increases in our lives that we become the kind of person Christ recognizes as great. The pyramids of Egypt are quite an accomplishment. We often talk about the great Pharaohs building the great pyramids. But the Pharaohs didn't build the pyramids. Slaves built the pyramids. These servants built things that to this day are a marvel. We don't know how they did it. These are among the greatest accomplishments of human history... and they were performed by servants. Your boss likely won’t tell you the truth about how to be great today. Your co-worker may not encourage you to greatness that way this week. But it is solid. Becoming a servant to help others achieve what God intends for them is exactly how you achieve the greatness God has for you. If you’ll look down for just a moment, you will probably see some great people upon whose shoulders you have stood. You didn’t think you became great by yourself did you? If you want to be great, go out today and serve someone. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. I cannot better describe a woman who is worthy of marriage and motherhood. So let me just share the qualities as found in the Bible. I highlight the key descriptors. I honor the mothers in my life... my own mom, my wife, and the women of the Church who provided spiritual nurturing. Who can find a capable wife? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away. She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her female servants. She evaluates a field and buys it; she plants a vineyard with her earnings. She draws on her strength and reveals that her arms are strong. She sees that her profits are good, and her lamp never goes out at night She extends her hands to the spinning staff, and her hands hold the spindle. Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy. She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed. She makes her own bed coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land. She makes and sells linen garments; she delivers belts to the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and loving instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. Her sons rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her: “Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!” Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates. (Proverbs 31:10-31) Like I said, I couldn't say it better... so why would I try? Happy day of blessing to all who have ever conceived a child. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Everyone has their cross to bear. But sometimes it seems like others have a lighter cross… it seems. Have you ever noticed that no one’s life is equal to yours? Whether it is wealth, talent, trouble, responsibility, opportunity, or any number of things, some have more than you, and others have less. I think mostly our eyes are caught by those who have more than us. This is especially true if they have more of the things we want. We should be careful to not be envious of others. I think one of the most damaging forms of this is people-envy. Whether it is simply the number of friends someone has, or the fact that they are in a committed relationship and you are not, or maybe they have children and you don’t, when we become envious of someone else’s personal life in regards to people, we can easily become bitter. This is not what God wants for you. God has given to each person according to what they can handle, and what He wants them to have. Knowing and trusting this truth can help you navigate some perilous waters. Sure, it doesn’t seem fair when some people have 15 children and you can’t seem to conceive one child. And nothing seems more unfair than when a person who is a horrible mother can have children like they are going out of style while a Godly nurturing mother cannot have a baby of her own. But we need to remember that God does not work off of a system of ‘evenness.’ He works off of what will bring Him the most glory. God does not form us with a glorified cookie-cutter. That is painful when we see someone who seems to be doing better in a department of life we care about. You may see your friends getting married right and left… even the dysfunctional ones who are poisonous in relationships. And there you stand, holding their bouquet. You’ve attended more birthdays for other kids than you can remember, but you want to throw one for your own child… but wait… you aren’t even married yet. This is where the enemy cranks up the attack. Satan wants us to believe that we automatically deserve what others have, and that is how God works. But have you noticed that he never plays that game with people who are not doing as well? How often do you walk through your local children’s hospital wishing you could trade places with those parents? The fact is, we don’t see the pain that goes with even the best of situations. God gives grace with the sorrows. But we tend to focus only on the blessings. And this is the point. We should be focusing on what God has given us, being thankful for that. Your life could change in a minute. The Bible is full of stories of people who were barren but became pregnant against all odds. It isn’t just about God’s ability. It is about His timing. Either way, we should be pursuing God and not what we want Him to give us. Even in the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, His closest friends got caught up in envy. In fact, Jesus answered this whole idea of personal envy in a conversation with one of His disciples. One day as Jesus was telling the apostle Peter that life would become very difficult for him, and he would end up dying a similar death to the one Jesus would die, “Peter turned around and saw the disciple (John). When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord—what about him?’ ‘If I want him to remain until I come,’ Jesus answered, ‘what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.’” (John 21:20-22) Jesus wasn’t saying that John wouldn’t die. He was saying that whatever God does with other people is His business… not ours. We spend way too much time worried about what others have and don’t have, and too little time being content and obedient. The message from Christ to you is, “What is it to you if others have what you want? Follow Me.” I’ve found that it is much easier to follow Jesus if we aren’t looking around at everyone else. I can wonder why other people have more talent, or greater impact than I do, or I can just serve God with what I have been given and watch Him bless my life. He made me. He knows best how to get the most glory out of my life. Trust Him today with what He has given you, and do not spend good energy wishing for someone else’s blessings. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. A mother never forgets the first time she sees her child. All other things may fade, but the memories of her child do not. Nowadays, the technology of ultrasound gives us a chance to glimpse at out child before they take their first breath of air. Through this modern technology, we can connect with our babies in ways past generations were unable to. For me, this technology was the avenue through which I got to know my son. Because his sister’s birth was a complicated one, the doctor’s considered this pregnancy to be ‘high risk’. Every two weeks we were able to see the growth of our baby boy. At each scan we could see his personality develop. He would playfully kick the places the technologist tried to measure. When it came time to take measurements of his head, he would mischievously place his hand over his head to make it impossible to take the needed measurements. We knew who he was and pieces of his developing personality before he took his first breath. In these moments, I am reminded of the words of David who said, “You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:13-16 New Living Translation) While we knew our son when he was in my womb, his entrance into this world would be a traumatic one. All of the technology in the world could not foresee what only God knew. Our playful little boy would share our breath in this world for eight short hours. Every day of his life, every beat of his heart had already been laid out before the foundation of the earth. In those eight hours, we were given the opportunity to express our faith to him in the God who had created him. My husband and I sang to him, letting him know Jesus loved him. We told him he would go from our arms into the everlasting arms of the One who loved him even more than we could begin to imagine. As he laid with his heart next to mine, I know his ceased to beat. In the aftermath of his death, we were able to see the ripple effects of his life. One nurse cried and had a strong desire to know the God of whom we spoke. One young family read our son’s obituary and decided they needed to worship with us, and this family has come to know and serve the Lord today. We saw a community come together and lives being transformed. Our trust in God who has every moment recorded continues to grow as we see his hand at work. Pastor Heidi Mikulin resides in Grove City, PA with her husband Ryan and their daughter, Jocelyn. She draws from her own life experiences to deliver the hope of how a relationship with Jesus Christ transforms your life. Her thought provoking questions intrigue you to dig deeper and reflect on your own relationship with Jesus and how to grow closer to him. Heidi is the missional Pastor of Grove City, PA. She is attending Winebrenner Theological Seminary and is involved in the Missional Leadership Initiative. You can connect with Pastor Heidi via email I had the chance to listen to a missionary family last night. These are foreign missionaries. That word ‘foreign’ should designate the type of missionary they are. It tells us that they have moved to a foreign land to serve God and reach people for the Kingdom. But have you noticed that we usually don’t say ‘foreign missionary’ when we talk about people who serve God oversees, but just talk about them as ‘missionaries’? The fact is, every Christian is a missionary… on mission, but when we talk about missionaries, we almost exclusively mean people who have left their home, learned another language, and only come around every few years to tell us the awesome things they’ve seen God do among people who have never heard of Him. Missionaries to foreign lands usually sacrifice more than other Christians. They may live in an area with limited or no electricity, limited or unhealthy water, limited or strange clothing, limited or weird food, limited or questionable medical care, limited or sketchy transportation, and the worst… limited or no internet. How do those people live with no internet? Well, that’s why we promise to pray for them (even if we don’t) and give them a few bucks every 4 years. They are troopers for the Kingdom, bless their hearts. Sometimes I think Christians in the ‘homeland’ financially support foreign missionaries out of pity. “Those poor people have given up a normal life to help some poor savages. I’m guessing they couldn’t find real work here at home, bless their heart. I’m sure they are doing what they can. I should probably help them out.” Sometimes we support them out of guilt. “Wow. What they do is amazing. They always have great stories of God working. But it is obvious that God is working because they love Him and they love the people they are trying to reach. I wish I was doing something great for God like that. Those are some real Christians there. I should help them do what they are doing because it is what we should be doing.” But here is the real deal. All Christians are foreigners on this planet. You may have been born here. But when you were born again, your citizenship was transferred into a new Kingdom. You are from Heaven. Scripture tells us over and over again that we are not of this world. That means you are a foreign missionary, sent by God to the people of the community in which you now reside to speak to them about things they do not know. Some of them speak a strange language, wear funny clothes, have sketchy transportation, lacking solid medical care, eat weird food, and may or may not have internet. You as a Christian are a missionary sent to them. Love them. Give them the Gospel. They are your responsibility. If a ‘foreign missionary’ showed up in your culture, they would probably revolutionize it. So why aren’t you? Jesus understood this. He was born in this world, but He came from another place. One time He was praying for His disciples and said this, “I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (John 17:14-18) Jesus said that His disciples, including you and me… are not of this world just as He is not of this world. We all know how other-worldly He was. That’s a powerful statement about us as foreigners. He chose to live here and bring the Gospel of new life. So must we. He was sent by the Father. Now we are sent by Jesus. If you are a Christian today, you have been sent by God as a foreign missionary to your zip code, or wherever your feet take you today. If we start acting like foreign missionaries in our communities, maybe we will see the changes foreign missionaries see in other parts of the world. How about that… you get to be one of those weird missionaries that only comes to church to talk about the amazing things they’ve seen God do. Cool, huh?!? Click the photo on this page to check out the work by some missionaries getting it done in Papua New Guinea. If you are looking for a missionary to support, feel free to contact me. I know a few. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. |
AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
March 2019
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