Greatness. That a single word can carry so much weight in our modern era never ceases to amaze me. Most people want to be great, but what does it mean to be great, exactly? The world would most likely respond that greatness is being wealthy, successful, famous, not being tied down with responsibility, and the list could go on and on. But what does greatness mean in light of a Christian worldview? Many Christians would say greatness is defined as being Christlike, and I believe this to be the most accurate definition.
But what does the Bible say? God’s word calls us to be more like Christ, the unarguable greatest person who ever lived. The term ‘Christian’ was first used to mock, but it instantly became our characterizing term, meaning to be ‘Christ-like’. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (KJV) True greatness, greatness that God would acknowledge, can only be achieved through the imitation of Christ.
We cannot do everything that Jesus did. He was perfect, without sin, and as human beings we cannot become that. We can imitate Jesus’s behavior as we see it in the Bible, however. We should choose to do the hard things, things that matter, things that will grow us. And, as we see it in the Bible, God uses trials to grow his children. They are not easy, but then again, they were not meant to be.
The most prominent of these verses is James 1:2-4. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Not only are we supposed to persevere through the trials God gives us, but we should find joy in them. Easier said than done, anyone would admit, but necessary all the same.
I found myself in this position once, only a few years ago. While we were on the mission field in Uganda, my dad was attacked while traveling on his motorcycle. He was severely injured and was forced to fly to the US for extended medical care. As you can imagine, there was a lot of trauma involved in this as we traveled with him. I learned that trials are used for God’s overarching plan. We learned things as a family that we would have never learned if we hadn’t experienced what we did through what happened. We grew closer to God as a family, learned how to cope with emergencies, and I, specifically, grew closer to God in my walk with Him.
Growing in Christ, being shaped to act like Him through the trials He gives us, is the only way to true greatness. It doesn’t guarantee anything, as we are prone to stumble, but God promises that the Holy Spirit will help us, as seen in Romans 8:26-27. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Can we not see? God gave us the means to, at the very least, attempt greatness through Him. Granted, the world will not recognize it as such. They will persecute you for it and might even kill you because of your efforts to be Christ-like. But you must persevere in your path of greatness. Just ask yourself this question: Is it worth it? Is Christ worth it?
