How do you measure greatness

Are you succeeding at living out the Great Commission, or just pretending? Find out by asking yourself these questions. Find out what it means to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to following Jesus daily. Find out what it means to not miss out on being a good steward of all your giftings. There is knowledge that is facts and then there is a knowledge that the Bible speaks about. There are so many needs in this world, and God desires to use His people to help.

When we respond to the needs around us, God gives us the opportunity to be history makers in the world. Once Jesus enters our lives as our Lord and Savior, we are called to live as an example to others. This can be difficult at times, but here are 5 ways we can imitate Jesus. These verses give us an encouraging picture of who God is and how much He cares for us. As we experience and enjoy all that God has created, we are reminded that there is one thing that matters most.

Light enables us to see, distinguishes safety from danger, and tells where obstacles may be. Here are a few from my observation; size of a church, numbers of books or songs an author or musician has written and performed, and how popular someone is on the speaking, concert, and conference circuits.

And in the words of the Lord, there is only one thing, one role, He recognizes as the true measure of greatness — servanthood. First, our servant role is the measurement of greatness because it makes us like the Greatest Servant ever — the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing is of greater importance in the life of a Christian than conforming to the image of Jesus.

Let that be the ultimate measure of greatness — becoming more and more like the Servant of Servants. This is a topic for another sermon But looking at this discussion, in one Gospel account we read that they came to Christ and asked him to settle this matter.

Working hard, being dedicated, doing what others are not willing to do in order to achieve a set goal is commendable even in a Christian faith context. Even St. Paul speaks about having run the race — having finished and having succeeded. If a student from the south side of Chicago, growing up in low income housing, surrounded by gangs and drugs is able to graduate high school and find a steady job to provide for his or her family — are they the greatest?

A student who grew up with the best education and opportunities, who had food on the table and two loving parents that guided and nurtured them to a corporate position in this world — are they the greatest?

What about an Armenian orphan who comes to the United States, after witnessing the atrocities of death and imprisonment, and through extremely hard work becomes a multi-millionaire — are they successful? A parishioner of St. Gregory Armenian Church, who has had a peaceful life, and decides to open up a business and runs it successfully — are they successful? My dears, greatness and success are not defined by the vastness or the limitation of physical achievements that we may or may not have accomplished.

Rather, to be the greatest is the one who is understands in their heart the humanity and humility of serving others. To be great is to act out of love — to act through Christ JesusSt. Fred Rogers. Yes, what is the measure of their life? Personally, when they compare their accomplishments to those of people glorified in media, history books, or Sport shows- I wonder how they feel about how they measure up.

I wonder does the average person even think about this sort of thing. Years ago, how to view the individual importance or greatness of the average person was answered for me- many times, in unspoken ways.

Each time my mother welcomed me home from school with a kiss or cooked my favorite meal because she wanted to make me happy- I was in the presence of greatness. To her, the importance, and yes the very center of her life, was giving to her children.