Sometimes? by Sophia Leeper

 By Sophia Leeper

Sometimes we desire to do more than the average person- to stand out in the crowd- to be the most faithful- the best at what we do- to be worth more than most in the eyes of people- to be famous, and make the most impact. What we don’t realize is that most of the time in the Bible and in history, the people who made the most impact were lowly, humble, not searching for personal gain, and only seeking to make Jesus famous. To glorify His name.

Think of the apostles- they were not out to make themselves look great. Jesus said, “he who is least among you all is the one who is great” (Luke 9:48b). The apostles were frowned upon by the Pharisees, the Jews, and even some of the Gentiles. They were not excepted by many people. But they still preached the gospel- even when people fought against it, and they made a huge impact for Christ, and brought many people to Him.

Our desire shouldn’t be to make ourself look greater, because all this will fade away. But we need to turn whatever longing that is in our heart to be great, to Jesus; to start longing to show others how great Jesus is. His majesty and glory no words can describe! He is so good! Compared to Him we amount to nothing, as long as we follow our own ways. It doesn’t matter if those serving God get rewarded and looked upon as great in this world. It’s the treasures in Heaven that count. And in order for our treasures to be in Heaven, our heart needs to be towards Jesus and not ourselves.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21:

19“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and ruste destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In the end, being great in this world is so shallow. Even if you make it to the top, would that satisfy you? There is always going to be someone who is better at what you do than you are, but what you do and accomplish in this world does not define who you are. God defines who you are. What matters is that we live our life to glorify God and lift Him higher. And our calling on this earth, one of the very reasons we were created, is to love God, and through loving on Him, glorify Him and share His goodness with others.

Those who made the most impact for Christ were:

Brave/bold, Humble, Obedient, Trusting, Abiding (John 15), Persecuted, Went through difficult times, True, Didn’t seek their own glory but God’s. They were Persistent- didn’t give up, and they set a higher standard.