What does it mean to be great?
What does it mean to achieve greatness in this world? Perhaps it’s going for that dream promotion, scoring the highest marks in the class, buying the dream property you’ve always wanted, or having children that have prestigious careers. All of this sounds great, but what does it mean to be great? Particularly, what does it mean to be great according to God’s definition? We look to Matthew 18:1-5 for the answer that will surely surprise you.
To be great in God’s eyes means to first redefine greatness
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 18:1-3)
One day, the disciples approach Jesus to ask who is considered the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. The author of Matthew doesn’t mention how the disciples came to ask Jesus this question. In the book of Luke, the author mentions that the disciples ask Jesus this because they were arguing over “which of them would be the greatest" (Luke 9:46). Their motive was asking was for their own sake; to measure their own greatness against the definition that Jesus would provide. But surely, Jesus’ answer—to be like a child—was unexpected. For during this time, to be a child was to be one of the lowest in society. Children had no rights; they had no social standing; and they were under the care of their parents. How could the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven be a child?
Jesus warns his disciples that to even enter the kingdom of heaven, they must first become like the child that was in Jesus’ arms. In the original Greek, the word ‘change’ that Jesus uses in verse two has the same meaning as to turn around. He was calling the disciples to turn away from their definition of greatness and be more like a child. What does this mean? Like Jesus modeled in his life, to be like a child means to…
willingly lower ourselves as Jesus lowered himself from God to human;
not care for reputation as Jesus did rather seeking God’s will over social status;
serve instead of seeking to be served as Jesus did countless times during his earthly ministry.
If we can’t be like a child—or like Christ—Jesus says we will ‘never’ enter the kingdom of heaven. In other words, if we pursue the world’s definition of greatness, we will never truly be great.
To be great in God’s eyes means to have complete dependence on God
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. (Matt 18:4-5)
Jesus knew exactly what he was saying. Children indeed had a lowly position in society as they were fully dependent on their parents or caregivers, and relied on their parents or caregivers for everything that they had in their possession. What the world (at the time) considered to be worthy of the lowest social standing is what God considered great. Why? Because God wants us to be exactly like a child, fully depending on him— our Heavenly father—for all our needs.
What does it look like to be fully dependent on God? It looks like praying first thing in the morning because we know that it’s impossible to start the day without consultation and communion with God. It looks like reading the Bible for our daily bread and the wisdom we need to act, think and speak like Christ. It looks like going into our social spheres ready to glorify God in everything we do. It looks like preaching the gospel—through our words and actions—no matter where we are or who we’re with because the good news is so good. And how exactly can we start doing these things? We must come back to the story of the Gospel, where in the darkness of sin humanity was waiting without hope.
Until Jesus came and overwhelmed our lives with his love. When we realise how powerless humanity was without Christ, then the foundation is set for us to fully depend on our Heavenly father.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you sent your Son to earth, saving us from hopelessness and darkness, bringing us into a life of hope and light. Father, we ask you to break down our own definitions of greatness. Help us redefine the meaning according to your definition. Help us to fully depend on you as a child depends on their parent.
We ask all this in Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen