At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." ~Matthew 18:1-4This wasn't the only time that the disciples thought about who was greatest. In fact, they argued about it among themselves and vied for the positions that they imagined for themselves once Jesus took His place as King. This is an odd tendency that we all seem to have to one degree or another: the need to advance our position or to be recognized by our peers in order to feel any worth. It is actually the very thing that I struggle with most.
Jesus condemned this tendency harshly when speaking to the Pharisees: "How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44) Jesus here speaks to those who are more worried about impressing each other and gaining the accolades of their peers than they are about the approval of God. The point of His rebuke is that they are so blinded by their own pride in their knowledge of the Scriptures and of their religiosity that they have missed everything that their Scriptures and that their religion point them to, namely Jesus Himself. (John 5:39-47)
Even within our own service to Christ we can easily fall into the tendency to do our duty in order to earn accolades and recognition for ourselves. We seek the approval of men instead of God and seek to get glory for ourselves instead of working to give all glory to the only one who truly deserves it. This is my greatest personal struggle in my walk with Christ. It is easier to recognize that pride is an issue in our lives than it is to submit to God to allow Him to remove it. As a wise woman said in our church fellowship "You can't just decide one day 'okay, today I am going to become humble!'"
Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest of those born of women yet the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than he (Matthew 11:11). The quality that marked John the Baptist was his recognition of who Jesus was and his submission to the superiority of Jesus and His ministry. John said Jesus must become greater and John must become less (John 3:30).
This is my prayer for myself and for all Christians: that in every aspect of our lives, in all our service, that we would seek for Jesus to continually become greater and for us to continually become less. That we would submit fully to the Holy Spirit and allow His fruit to grow in us so fully that any care for our own recognition or control simply falls away as Christ alone rises as master over all.
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~Mark 10:43-45
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