The greatest of all time

The Olympics has caused that question to be bantered about with regularity.  Is Michael Phelps the GOAT in swimming . . . with his 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them gold? Is Usain Bolt the GOAT in running, as the fastest man on record at 9.58 seconds in 100 meters?   Even before the Opening Olympics Ceremonies in Japan, reporters were asking gymnast Simone Biles, “How does it feel to be the Greatest Of All Time . . . the GOAT of gymnastics?” Is it not interesting that Simone Biles and Michael Phelps and others have now shared that the mantle of GOAT, while intended as a compliment, has instead been a burden too heavy to bear?  After all, who wants to constantly be expected to be nearly perfect in anything? As in all things, the question of “Who is the greatest?” is not a new one. Yes, Wikipedia will tell you that the term GOAT was likely first used of fighter Muhammad Ali in 1992 by his wife, Lonnie. Or maybe it was first used by a New York City street basketball player from the 1950s named Earl Manigault . . . who due to his last name, was called “Mani . . . GOAT.” After all, Earl averaged 31 points per game for his high school basketball team. But the question has actually been around for thousands of years. Jesus once asked His disciples in Mark 9:33, “What were you talking about while we were walking along the way?”   But, we are told that Jesus’ disciples kept silent. For on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”What? Who in the world wants to be . . . or is even willing to be . . .  ”the servant of all?” Who wants to be “the last of all?” That’s not at all in keeping with the world’s definition of GOAT . . . which is about achieving fame for one’s personal accomplishments.   And yet, the date on every coin in your pocket bears witness to the one who WAS willing to be the servant of all and last of all. There was only One who has walked the earth for 33 years and remained without sin. There is only One, who said about Himself that He “came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 11:28).   There is only ONE, who was able to pay the debt for the sin of the whole world by dying, and proved that the payment had been complete by rising again from the dead. Know of anyone else in the history of the world who has done that? Surely, Jesus is the GOAT, but is instead called the LAMB . . . of God . . . who takes away the sin of the world. And the best news of all? That same Jesus chose to share His greatness with you. Rather than waking up each day with the burden of thinking, “I need to live up to everyone’s expectations of perfection. I need to achieve greatness today!” It’s called grace . . . that through faith in Jesus Christ, you have the greatness of being known by God and loved and forgiven by Him. It is called grace, that through Jesus, the Creator of the universe looks at you and sees perfection . . . not because of what you have done, but because of what Christ did for you long ago on a cross. “For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8).

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