Next month, Time Magazine will announce their "Person of the Year." Since 1927, that publication has chosen a man, woman, or idea that "for better or worse, has most influenced events in the preceding year." Though the Time's list is not an academic or objective study of the past, it gives a contemporary viewpoint of what they feel was important during each year. Take a look at these previous winners:
Charles Lindbergh (1927) was the first and youngest (age 25) person to receive the distinction.
Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson, the woman whom English King Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry, was the first woman to receive the honor (1936).
Though a number of people have received the honor twice, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only person to have been named three times (1932, 1934, and 1941).
Adolf Hitler, the murderous leader of Nazi Germany, received the honor (1938).
A whole generation was named (1966) "Twenty-five and Under."
In 1982, the computer became the first object ever to receive the distinction.
There are several years where large groups of people were nominated: the American Fighting-Man (1950), the Hungarian Freedom Fighter (1956), U.S. Scientists (1960), Twenty-Five and Under (1966), the Middle Americans (1968), and American Women (1975).
Interesting how many different criteria they have used to bestow this distinction.
Jesus was a lot more straight forward and His criteria unchanging when His disciples asked Him to choose His person of the year in Matthew 18:1, " 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' " Jesus' answer was simple, unequivocable, showed no favoritism, and was not politically correct. He called a little child to Him and said, " 'Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
The Greek word Jesus used for "humble" was tapeinoo (tap-eye-nah-oh). It described a person void of arrogance and self-exaltation--a person who willingly submits to God and His will. And the best example Jesus could find was a child who had not yet been contaminated by his ambitions or consumed by his own desires.
In my life, I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know some of the most well-known Christian ministers, teachers, authors, and musicians in the world. But in the last couple of weeks, I found myself acknowledging that I was sitting in the presence of true greatness.
The first time I felt this way was at a single-mom's retreat where I spoke for the weekend. I went there to bless them, and they ended up blessing me. The details of some of their stories were unfathonable. The degree of ill treatment they'd faced was unthinkable. The road ahead for most of them was unbelievable.
But their strength and courage was undeniable. Instead of seeking revenge, they sought to let go. Instead of seeking their own good, they sought the best for their kids. Instead of revisiting their mistakes and rehearsing their hurts, they sought God's direction for moving on. That weekend, I added these courageous single moms to my "greatest-people" list.
Matt and Jonna are there now, too. They're a young couple in their twenties who attend our small group on Thursday nights. They are due to have their first child on November 24. Some time after that, they will return to the mission field in Kazakhstan, where only about .6 percent are known to be Christians. Last night, a very pregnant Jonna stood in our kitchen and described a time earlier that day of hesitancy in taking their new baby so far from family to pursue God's call on their lives. But then she read Matthew 19:29: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."
Those words made Jonna remember and renew her resolve. Their sacrifice here would be rewarded some day there. Their child would grow up not to be pittied but to be envied. He or she will understand Jesus' real definition of greatness: no arrogance or self-exaltation and lots of servanthood and sacrifice, while many of our children still think greatness hangs on fame and fortune.
No matter who--or what--Time Magazine selects as their person of the year, courageous single parents and Matt and Jonna get my vote. Like children void of arrogance and self-exaltation, these people have willingly submitted to God and His will whatever the cost.
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Only tapeinoo servants who love and trust God completely and serve Him wholeheartedly. If you and I are to win that honor with God, we, too, must fit that criteria. Every day we must make a choice between humility and ambition, servanthood and entitlement, God-glorification and our-glorification.
Great in the world's eyes, or great in God's eyes? That should be an easy choice to make. Thanks single parents, Matt, Jonna, and others for your example to the rest of us.