Woodcut “Jesus Teaches Greatness” from “Die Bibel in Bildern” (“The Bible in Pictures”) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1860), Source “Die Bibel in Bildern” (“The Bible in Pictures”), (PD)
I dreamt last night of a frustrated young man, longing for meaning and purpose. For greatness, as the world defines it.
But greatness is not defined by the billions garnered overnight for a clever idea at the right moment, or – more often, these days – a mirage sold to a public so hungry for something of substance it will swallow almost anything. Greatness is not exemplified by Apple or Twitter or Lululemon, no matter how high their stock price.
Greatness is exemplified by the daily faithfulness of a good father working a menial job to put food on the table and shoes on his children’s feet, by the daily patience of a good mother homeschooling an autistic child for lack of a better alternative.
Greatness is not measured in moments. It is measured across a lifetime.
Few of us are called to go out in a blaze of cinematic glory, applauded martyrs to a popular cause. More are called to stand guard on lonely frontiers, to push boulders endlessly up impossible hills, our worth unrecognized and unsung.
God sees those efforts, nonetheless. It is He who assigns their true value, not this deluded, transient world. It is urgent our young people hear this from us.
“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matt. 23: 11).
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