I tell you the truth: Among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matt.11:11).
In the natural realm, I have always admired people like John the Baptist: extremely dedicated and focused; extremely disciplined; extremely courageous. John did not arrive on the scene in Galilee after a night of watching Desperate Housewives or How I Met Your Mother (who watches these shows anyway?); he did not come "eating and drinking," according to Jesus, but in fasting and continuous prayer. He was not afraid to challenge the leading rulers, despite their absolute power over him. And he was not afraid to call them a "brood of vipers," despite their reputation for absolute purity and holiness.
How, then, can Jesus tell his disciples that "the least" in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist? There must be something here that we are missing!
Immediately, I think of Therese of Liseux, who thought of herself as the "Little Flower," blooming for the pleasure of the Child Jesus. She had no strength of her own to "climb the rough stairway of sanctity," as she called it. But she thought of herself as a toddler in the spiritual life, standing at the bottom of the staircase, trying to lift one foot to the first stair. She thought of Jesus as a Mother whose heart was full of mercy and compassion for the child, Who descends the stairway to pick up the child and carry it to the top.
Jesus called John the Baptist, "the Elijah who was to come," for those who "had ears to hear." Both Elijah and John were great men of God, filled with the Spirit of Truth, and both were put on a pedestal in Israel to proclaim the truth. And next to these great men, Jesus did not hesitate to put a child--the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these....anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:14-15).
Our "greatness," according to Jesus, has nothing to do with our wearing camel's hairshirts and preaching, but with our "receiving" the kingdom and not falling away, not growing weary, not giving up. We can only be "greater" than John the Baptist and Elijah because the Son of God Himself is able to dwell in us to the glory of God the Father, if we keep on allowing Him to do so.
Since we tend to be focused on our own failures and weaknesses, it is hard for us to accept the in-dwelling of Jesus; it seems impossible that He could actually be living in us, with our indifference to the things of heaven. That is the cross he still bears everyday: our indifference, our weakness, our blindness to the glory of God all around us. Still, He does not give up; still, everyday, he takes us the cross of our weakness, and continues to the end in us.
He is the Faithful One -- to the Father, and to us. He will not leave us or abandon us, no matter where we are or what we are doing. He is committed to seeing this journey through to the end, no matter what it costs Him. If we could only learn to allow Him to do what He wants to do in us, He "would make our name great," as He did with Abraham, who followed where He led.
Jesus, do in me today what I have no strength to do in myself. John the Baptist said, "He must increase; I must decrease." I think this is the secret to "being great" in the kingdom of heaven---not that I have become strong, but that Jesus in me has become strong unto the Father in heaven!
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