What does it take to be great? Wayne
Gretzky, the Great One, is widely acknowledged to have been the best ice hockey
player ever to have laced up a pair of skates. Currently he is the leading
point scorer in the history of the NHL – with nearly one thousand more points
than the second leading scorer.
Gretzky
certainly knew how to attain greatness in his field. As I was reading about
him, two ideas stood out to me in relation to his pursuit of excellence. First
of all, he did not play as an individual but took advantage of his other four
line-mates. He would involve others in his pursuit of victory by passing and
not hogging the puck. Secondly, he knew where to position himself on the ice.
He would station himself on the open ice, away from other skaters, so that he
had room and time to create scoring opportunities.
Gretzky
knew how to be a great hockey player. But do we know how to be great followers
of Christ? If we want to be great in God’s kingdom, what is necessary?
While
Jesus is speaking to his followers he says this: “Therefore whoever relaxes one
of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)
What
commandments is Jesus referring to? Just prior to this verse Jesus explains
that he has not come to abolish the Old Testament but rather to fulfill it. We
do not have time here to fully explore how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, but
one of the things he does, according to John Stott, is reveal to us the fuller
implication of the Old Testament: “he explains what obedience will involve for
his disciples. He rejects the superficial interpretation of the law given by
the scribes; he himself supplies the true interpretation. His purpose is not to
change the law, still less to annul it, but ‘to reveal the full depth of
meaning that it was intended to hold.’ So then he ‘fulfils it by declaring the
radical demands of the righteousness of God’.”[1]
The
Old Testament’s ethical precepts have much more depth than many realize. They
guide external obedience to be sure, but also point at our desires, thoughts,
and emotions. They teach us that many of the things we thought were fine to do
are in fact repugnant. When properly handled, the Old Testament reveals to us
the heart of God for his people – the righteousness he longs to see in us. Such
righteousness is not merely external conformity, it is our entire being
responding in love and faithfulness to a perfect and adoring God.
Jesus
is not a cosmic hippie who calls on his people to practice uninformed love. He
is not a permissive grandparent who allows us to do whatever we want as long as
we do not harm anyone else. He calls those of us who are privileged to follow
him into deep, committed, loving obedience. He calls us to holiness. If we are
to be great in his kingdom, we must take God’s call to righteousness seriously,
and we must instruct others in obedience as well.
Is
holiness a passion in my life? Is it the desire of my heart to be like him,
regardless of the cost?
[1] John
Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, TBST (Leicester: Inter-Varsity,
1978), p. 72. Stott quotes from McNeile and Stonehouse in this quotation.
