“But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In a story published by Marathon Handbook titled “Keely Hodgkinson Just Got Something Almost No Track Runner Gets: Her Own Nike Collection,” it was reported that the Olympic 800m champion's signature pack spans four Nike shoes and a run of apparel in black and metallic gold.
Signature collections are one of sport’s clearest status symbols, and in running they are vanishingly rare, historically reserved for a handful of the biggest sprint names. So it says something that Nike has just handed one to an 800m runner. The brand is launching the Keely Hodgkinson Collection, the Olympic champion’s first signature athlete pack, spanning footwear and apparel, available globally from July 16…
Hodgkinson kept her own framing simple and pointed it at the next generation. “Having my own Nike collection is a dream come true,” she said. “I hope every young girl who sees it knows that big dreams are worth chasing, because with hard work and belief, anything is possible.”
And, you know, while Keely might consider having her own “collection” the pinnacle of success and a status to be admired and imitated by the next generation, she will one day find out that her worldly status was short-lived and that, in the end, those who imitated her example ended up being as disappointed as she was.
Why? Because Kingdom status and success isn’t defined in the same way worldly success is--and following any example other than the one Jesus modeled when He walked the earth might fill a person for a while but will eventually leave that person empty.
You see, the world says that only those with money, power, and status are “great.” But Jesus said to the disciples “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In speaking to the disciples in this way, Jesus completely flipped the human definition of power and success upside down. True greatness in God's kingdom, He made clear, is not achieved by gaining status, authority, or control over others, but by choosing the exact opposite path: a life of humility and active service.
Furthermore, when Jesus said, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant," He directly contradicted worldly leadership, which relies on pulling rank and exercising authority over subordinates.
When He said, "Whoever wants to be first must be your slave," Jesus, amidst a culture where a slave had no rights or social standing, showed that true greatness requires a total surrender of pride and status.
And when Jesus said, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many," He made it clear that we are to live our lives with a focus on what we can give, not by what we can gain. Jesus' example further shows us that true greatness is not measured by the status we obtain in this world but by the surrender we exhibit.
So, don’t chase worldly status my friend. It’s short-lived and has no eternal value. Instead, seek to serve like Jesus. You might be counted among the least here, but you will be counted among the “great” in the life to come. And, truly, that’s all that matters.
Heavenly Father, thank You for measuring success in a way that goes contrary to the world. Help us to follow the example Jesus set in such a way that others would be inspired to seek Him themselves because of it. Lord, strip us of our pride and help us to see that nothing in this world will fully satisfy us apart from doing Your will. It’s in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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