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Greatness Defined
Matthew 5:19
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
When God defines greatness, you will notice that His definition does not include position. We often hear that a preacher is a great man because of the size of his church. However, the size of a man's church does not make him great. Likewise, the amount a person gives in the offering plate does not make a person great. Just because someone has sacrificed greatly in the Christian life does not make them great. Furthermore, just because a person has started a great Christian organization does not make them great. Though most of these accomplishments will be rewarded, these do not make a Christian great. We often define greatness by how much influence a person has. However, if influence or the size of a work is what make a person a great Christian, then there would be many who would never be able to attain that status in the eyes of God.
God makes it possible for all to attain the status of greatness. God always gives the wherewithal for His people to be able to do what He expects of them. Therefore, when God defined greatness, He simply said that a person who obeys and teaches His commandments is considered great in His kingdom. When God narrowed it down to this definition, then you can see that any person can be considered great, for greatness has nothing to do with status, it all has everything to do with action.
First, to be great you must obey God's commandments. God's Word is filled with His commandments. You will have a hard time attaining greatness if you don't read God's Word daily. When you daily read the Word of God, you will find out what God expects from you as a Christian. Afterwards, you can go from your time of study and obey what He taught you in the Word of God. For instance, God commands us to be faithful to church. That means that you will never be a great Christian without being faithful to church. Likewise, God commands us to be personal soul winners. You cannot be a great Christian unless you actively pursue leading people to Christ. If you don't fulfill the Great Commission, then you cannot be a great Christian. Simply put, the first step in becoming a great Christian is to obey God's commandments.
The second step in becoming a great Christian is to teach God's commandments. In other words, obeying them is not enough, God wants you to graduate into teaching them to others. I often hear people who are trying to impress me with their Christianity by telling me what they don't do. They want me to think they are great because they are obeying God's commandments. However, God says a person is not a great Christian until they start teaching His commandments also. It is not enough just to obey, but you must also teach others what they are supposed to do. This is the final step in becoming a great Christian.
You will notice that becoming a great Christian can be accomplished by simply obeying the Great Commission. If you will start living right, and then lead people to Christ and teach them how to do the same, then you will be considered a great Christian. This means you can be a great Christian. My question to you is this, would God consider you great? Are you actively obeying God's commandments and His will for your life? Then, are you teaching others to do the same? These two are the two requirements needed to become a great Christian. I challenge you to strive to be a great Christian. You may not be recognized as a great Christian on this Earth, but when you get to Heaven you will be recognized as a great Christian if you will do what you've been taught and then teach it to others.