Keys to Greatness:  Submission and Service

                  By A. W. Tozer

 

                 . . . Whosoever will be great among you,

                  let him be your minister; And whosoever

                  will be chief among you, let him be your

                  servant.

                                                        -   -   Matthew 20:26,27

 

                           The  essence of Christ's  teaching concerning

                  greatness was this: true greatness among humans

                  must be found in character, not in ability or position.

 

                           While a few philosophers and religionists of pre-

                  Christian times had noted the fallacy in man's ideas of

                  dominion and status, it was Christ who defined and

                  demonstrated true greatness.

 

                       "Let him be your minister: let him be your servant."

                  It is that simple and that easy - and that difficult!

 

                           We have but to follow Christ in service to the human

                  race, a selfless service that seeks only to serve, and

                  greatness will be ours!  That is all, but it is too much, for

                  it runs counter to all that is Adam in us.  Adam still feels

                  the instinct for dominion; he hears deep within him the

                  command, "Replenish the earth and subdue it."  There-

                  fore he does not take kindly to the command to serve!

 

                           Sin must go and Adam must give way to Christ: so

                  says our Lord in effect.  By sin men have lost dominion,

                  even their very right to it, until they win it back by

                  humble service.

 

                           Though redeemed from death and hell by the

                  vicarious labor of Christ on the cross, still the right to

                  have dominion must be won by each man separately.

                  Each must fulfill a long apprenticeship as a servant

                  before he is fit to rule.

 

                           After Christ had served (and His service included

                  death) God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name

                  above every name.  As a man He served and won His

                  right to have dominion. He knew where true greatness

                  lay - and we do not. 

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                  Yours in Christ,

                          Paul N.  F.