Can you imagine Jesus overhearing His disciples discussing amongst themselves who was the greatest. After all, Jesus was the greatest person ever to walk the face of the earth, and He seemed to make a point to do the exact opposite of what you would expect a great person to do. He wasn't some incredible military leader or a powerful ruler. Jesus was a suffering servant, and His words to His disciples were that the only way they could become great was to following in His footsteps and become a servant. We don't associate servanthood with greatness in our culture, and they didn't associate servanthood with greatness in that culture, either. It's counter-intuitive to what we would expect, but it's the truth. 
Those who know me well know that I'm very proud to be a graduate of Taylor University. One of my most prized possessions is something I received at graduation: a servant's towel. The challenge is that graduates would follow in the footsteps of Christ and become servants to the world. It's good to be reminded of that challenge from time to time: Greatness is only achieved by making oneself less.
Leave a Reply