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.