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.
