Muhammed Ali used to boast that he was “the greatest of all time.”

Arguably, he is the greatest boxer of all time, but I wonder how many children under the age of 10 today could even tell you who Muhammed Ali is. All of the athletes, musicians and celebrities that we thought were so great when we were young are virtually unknown to our kids and grandkids today. That’s because, as St. Paul says, “the present form of this world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31).”

The accolades, fame and pomp of the world eventually fade into nothing and are quickly forgotten. Everything — even the greatest things of this world — are fleeting and temporary. Like King Solomon repeatedly says in the book of Ecclesiastes, this world and all that is in it is “vaporous,” like fog that’s there in the morning and gone by midday.

So, what does greatness look like in the Kingdom of God?

“The disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4).”

Jesus plays with a different set of rules when it comes to greatness. Greatness in the kingdom of God looks like a little child, a kid, one small enough to be picked up and held in Jesus’ arms. Children cannot survive on their own, cannot make it without the aid and service of another. They are dependent, utterly givable to. Greatness in God’s Kingdom means, like a child, to be utterly dependent upon someone else.

I know that doesn’t sound all that “great,” but to be a Christian is to rely not upon yourself or your own greatness, but to rely solely and completely upon Christ and His humble cross and death for your salvation and eternal life. Jesus rose from the dead never to die again. Why trust in the great things of this world that will only pass away? Trust, rather, in the Risen Christ and His Word, which is eternal and will never pass away.

Faith is not as much about what you give to God as it is trusting in what He gives to you. Faith recognizes that even the great things we do and have in this life are only temporary. To live in faith means to confess your sins, your need for mercy, and to desire for God to bless you with His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Childlike faith is to trust in God your Father; receiving as a child receives, without any merit or worthiness in us. We are recipients of God’s grace, His undeserved kindness, shown to us sinners in His beloved Son, our Savior Jesus, Who is indeed the greatest of all time.

Paul Doellinger is the pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Cassopolis. He can be reached at paul.doellinger@gmail.com.