Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John.” John 7:24-28

In the passage above, Jesus was referring to John the Baptist. He praised him in front of a large crowd of Jews who had weaned on stories about the great prophets of Israel. Jesus declared that among men and prophets, there were none greater than John. When you consider Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah and Isaiah….that is quite a statement. Especially, when you consider that John never performed a recorded miracle. He didn’t write extensive books or prophecies against nations. He didn’t have a forty year career of prophesying and counseling kings. His ministry was brief, remarkably unrecorded, and he even had moments when he wondered if Jesus were the Messiah after all.

So what made him great and what makes us great in the kingdom of God? We can tell from the passage that John had been given a ministry of preparation – preparing the hearts of Israel to recognize and receive Jesus as their Messiah. He had one job. He pointed the broken to Jesus and confronted the self-righteous about their hypocrisy. No miracles, no extensive writings, no supernatural rescues. What he did bring was a few short years of uncompromised preaching about the one who was coming. He was totally faithful in the purpose that God had ordained for him.

We are clearly told by the Psalmist (Ps. 139:16) that everyday ordained for us was written in God’s book before one of them came to pass. The things written before our birth are the purposes of God for our life on the earth. His desire is that we discover and fulfill those purposes. Perhaps, our greatness in heaven will be measured by how well we fulfill God’s purposes for us. Those purposes will look different for each of us so we cannot compare ourselves to others or what they do for Jesus. Our call is to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and then be as faithful as possible to fulfill what God has called us to so. I think that was part of John’s greatness. That was certainly the greatness of Jesus. On the other hand, too many of us pursue our own purposes in this life and then expect God to bless our pursuit.

Sometimes we feel insignificant in the things we find ourselves doing for Jesus. We may serve quietly in the shadows week after week, we may never build a great church, we may never lead hundreds to Christ…but if we are faithful with the opportunities put before us, we can be deemed great in the kingdom of heaven. In a biography of Billy Graham we are told that he was born in a farmhouse outside Charlotte, North Carolina. He grew up on a dairy farm. When he was sixteen he was turned down for membership in a local youth group because he was considered “too worldly.” However, a farm worker named Albert McMakin, persuaded Graham to go hear an evangelist named Mordecai Ham. Graham was converted during a series of those revival meetings held by Ham and the rest is history.

Before reviewing the biography, I never heard of McMakin or Ham, but their willingness to fulfill their purpose in a moment offered to them was essential in the gospel being preached to hundreds of thousands of people with untold numbers of responses. If McMakin had not been working on a farm and had not pointed Billy Graham to a revival, who knows if God’s purposes for Graham would have been fulfilled. We tend to measure things by worldly standards (numbers, name recognition, magazine covers, etc.), but heaven measures them differently Fulfilling God’s purposes for us is the thing…not my will but yours be done.

We may not always be clear on the purposes, but if we sincerley want to fulfill everything written in his book, I’m confident God will lead us into moments when those purposes can be fulfilled…even if we are not always aware we are doing so. I’m also convinced that sometimes we turn down his small purposes while waiting for the one we think will carry more weight. But the principle is that we must be faithful in little before he will make us faithful in much.

God does not exist to fulfill our longings for the things of this world, but we exist to fulfill his longings for us. And when we fulfill his longings for us, we experience his pleasure and his blessings. Let me encourage you to think about his purposes for your life in the days ahead and ask him to reveal those to you. Each purpose is significant but only God may know how significant a farm hand can be extending one invitation to a worldly teenager on a little farm in North Carolina.