What is "great"?

I just started reading this book by Shawn Wood called 200 Pomegranates And An Audience Of One. He is a pastor and the book is about creating a life of meaning and influence. On the back cover, a pastor named Tim Stevens writes "This is a book for anyone who wants to be great at something- parenting, teaching, leading, whatever. God has a purpose for you, and this book will give you the motivation and inspiration to get there."

Well, I was reading along and something I read just gave me one of those "whoa, that's deep" moments. He referenced Matthew 20:26-28 where Jesus says, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransome for many." Shawn then asked a few really interesting questions..."Have you ever found yourself wishing that you could do something truly meaningful with your life? That you could be great at something that would leave a legacy?" And here's where we come to the "whoa, that's deep" moment. Pay attention here, because this is good. When he goes on to ask..."Do you ever find yourself thinking about being great by being a servant to your husband? By meeting the needs of your wife? By washing the feet of your children? By loving your enemies at work and serving your competition on the sales team? This is the new great."

Did you catch that? Well, did you? As Christians, we can become so entangled in how we can do "great" things for the Lord and completely miss the opportunities that are right in front of us each and every day. We can become so trapped in the thought that being involved in several ministries at church and doing lots of service projects are the ways we can best serve the Lord and we can actually miss the opportunities where He is asking us on a daily basis to do "great" things for Him.

I just thought this was one of those simple ideas that are so easy to overlook and that we sometimes need a reminder of.

I hope it makes you think a little too and be more aware of being a servant to others to share God's love. So, let your light shine and do "great" things for God!