The "Greatness" Answer

Luke 9:47-48
⁴⁷ And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, ⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”

The central problem presented in these verses is that the competitive desire for comparative greatness seems to be ingrained in the human psyche and may even be biological.  Competition seems to be an inescapable part of the human experience.  Even in the presence of their Master, the disciples debated among themselves who should be the greatest.  In Jesus’ response, He did not condemn them directly for their desire or debate, but he showed them that true greatness – μέγας; megas – was not in superior assignment, position, or accomplishments, but was having and living in a closer likeness of heart to Jesus Christ, their Lord.

Jesus demonstrated this with a child whom he placed beside Him saying that “whoever shall receive a child in My name will receive Me and thereby receive the My Father.”  Interestingly, the word Jesus used for receive is δέχομαι; dechomai – “to take with the hand, therefore to take into one’s own possession.”  I see this as what we would say in today’s idiom “to open one’s heart” or “to take to one’s heart.”  In other words, to receive a child in Jesus’ name was to take that child who could do nothing for the disciple and in whom no particular credit or esteem might lie – to take this “nothing” to one’s heart because these children are the ones to whom Jesus had opened His heart.

Following that discussion, Luke includes another illustration of greatness, what we might call “group greatness.”  The situation came about because John saw someone casting out demons in Jesus name, but because he was not of the “disciple group,” John took exception to this man’s use of Jesus name and basically told the man to stop.  Herein lies one of the most serious problems in churches today, the attitude of exclusivity of ministry.  What had happened among the disciples was what happens so often in churches.  The disciples believed that they and they alone had the right to work in Jesus name – after all they were the ones who had paid the price to spend so much time with Him and had learned so much, or so they thought.  In the same way our attitudes degenerate to the place where we believe that what our group, church, or denomination does and the way we do it is not only the best way to serve Christ, it is the only way to serve Christ.  Anyone or any community of believers that is not part of our “group” is not only less a servant of Christ, they are actually unworthy of service to Him, and they might even be evil.

Lord, I do not or should not seek for greatness for myself in Thy service; I ask only that I will show Thy heart and open my hands and heart to all whom You would draw to Yourself.  May I also gladly and humbly serve alongside all those who serve Thee.

Coram deo