Book Notes (Series Premiere)

"Descending to Greatness" by Jeremy Kingsley

This is the book I'm reading for the month of August. I knew after only a few pages that this book was sent as a divine appointment from God to me. Based on what I've read so far, I think it's going to go down as one of the more impacting books I've ever read.

Here's what I underlined from Chapter One, titled "How Do I Become Great"... (the headings and bold I added)

Defining Greatness
"if I’m defining greatest, I don’t know whether it’s worth pursuing. And if you’re defining greatness, I’m not sure you’ll want to chase an arbitrary idea that you made up for yourself. But if the greatest One of all defines greatness for us, we would be wise to learn what it says – and the greatest One who has ever lived has spoke about greatness.”

Jesus “broke up a conversation among his disciples about who was the greatest, and he dropped a huge bombshell: The Last will be first. The humble person is the greatest.”

People Jesus Hung Out With
“The friends Jesus made and the people he touched showed no signs of having achieved greatness through meeting the right people in places of power and influence. Jesus himself was actually known as a friend of low-life Jews who collected taxes for the oppressive Roman government. He spent time with drunks and prostitutes in his effort to call Israel back to Holiness. He did not whine and dine at fancy Roman parties or get chummy with the priests who controlled the Temple and ran the Jewish law courts. His compatriots were anything but great, and he did more to make famous and power leaders of Roman Palestine angry at him than he did to win their respect and honor. So he certainly did not teach us how to be great by working his way up the ancient corporate food chain into a place of authority and prominence.”

Description of Foot-washing
“The job of foot-washing was saved for the lowest of the low, the servants of the servants. Only the least important, most underprivileged people – those who had been born among a bunch of farm animals or in a gas station bathroom – got stuck with that duty. In fact, rabbinic documents show that rabbis and Pharisees in the time of Christ would force their disciples to serve them in every way that slaves would serve their masters except for one thing: They were never, ever to touch anyone’s feet. That was simply too demeaning for any respectable human being to endure.”

“So the statement Jesus made by washing his disciples feet would have been profound. He had said before that greatness came from humbling oneself. He had said, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first” (see Matthew 19:30), but now he was showing it. He was getting down and dirty. His greatness would not be achieved by working his way up through the political or religious ranks. He did not try to schmooze powerful people or gather an armed crowd that could rise up against the establishment and make him king. His greatness was being worked out as he went out of his way to serve those around him. In a move that ran counter to his culture, he descended to greatness.”

Describing Philippians 2:6-8
“What divine privileges did he give up? Jesus did not give up his deity. But he did give up his rights to full glory, complete majesty, a sinless environment, and continuous praise. The Greatest gave all that up to be last.”

“When you think about it Jesus, gave up majesty for a mud hole. He came from a trophy room to a cold, smelly manger and a sickly world. Hollywood’s Cribs has nothing on the mansion and glory Jesus left behind. He gave up a throne room of perfect peace for a place of conflict, where abuse, criticism, suffering, ridicule, and indescribable pain would follow him for thirty-three years and ultimately take his life.”

“Paul’s words in Philippians 2:6-8 make it clear that Jesus’ painful and humble service was no accident. He didn’t come expecting to receive glory and the accolades of the world. He knew all along that true greatest lives in the form of lowly service. He knew that the path to success in God’s economy required a descent to greatness – an unusual twist in our expectations.”

Summary
“Jesus calls us to give up our pretensions of greatness defined by fame, carefree living , or accomplishment. Contrary to popular opinion, greatness is defined by the humble and often hidden actions of a person who has given up on coming out on top. It’s consistently putting Jesus and others first. Living a life of greatness is actually walking a difficult path of self-sacrifice and inconvenience, driven by a greater concern for others. A truly great person does not need to be served but is bent on serving others. Jesus said it himself, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28).