Two months before his death, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached a sermon on significance.
He said:
“If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve… You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
Jesus gave us this same definition of greatness in Matthew 23:11:
“The greatest among you shall be your servant.”
True greatness isn’t about recognition or achievement—it’s about humbly serving others. Every act of kindness, no matter how small, is an opportunity to reflect the love of Christ and that carries eternal significance.
Lord, teach me to serve with grace and love, following Your perfect example of true greatness. Open my eyes to the opportunities to serve that surround me today. Guard my heart from seeking greatness for myself, and instead, help me to seek You and pursue love—the one pursuit that is truly great. Amen