“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” ―Luke 1:46-47 (RSV-CE)
“…it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…” ―Galatians 2:20 (RSV-CE)
“The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” ―Pope Benedict XVI
As we conclude another year, highlighted recently by our third annual event, themed Bring Out the Greatness, and we enter the season of Christmas, I found myself asking myself this question: As I work to become the “best version of myself,” to strive for “greatness,” it gave me pause to ask myself this question:
Whose Greatness do I wish to embody? Is it my greatness, or that of Someone Else?
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For example, when Mary accepted the task to bear the Son of God, she did not proclaim her greatness, but God’s.
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When Paul speaks of “dying to self,” it is endeavoring to allow Christ to live through him.
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And when Pope Benedict speaks of us being made for greatness, he echoes the true meaning of “…being made in God’s image.”
As a participant in the first cohort of the Authentic Leadership Foundation’s Advanced Leadership Training, I have come to better understand this distinction. Everything we have, all that we are, cannot be without God. Indeed, since God literally thought the universe (and each one of us) into existence, without Him, we are nothing.
These are points that I am striving to remember as I celebrate the birth of our Savior, and look with gratitude to the new year, and the challenges it brings. Have a blessed Christmas and New Year, and may God’s Greatness shine forth in each and every one of us.
