The Worth of Hiddenness

For much of my 20’s, I aspired to a certain idea and vision of greatness. I received prophecies about my greatness and how the Lord wanted to use me to “impact nations.” I heard these kinds of words over and over, and these words were great to hear – but naturally, after many years of not making much impact, I felt like I had failed God to some measure (I believe my experience is not uncommon). I felt I needed to figure out how to achieve “big impact” in order to truly fulfill my calling and destiny in life. 

 The Great Commission says in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” 

When read plainly, the Great Commission does put forth this command of impacting nations. The problem is that we have interpreted the Great Commission in a way that makes it unachievable to 99% of Christians who do not have large platforms or access to thousands of people. We have interpreted the Great Commission to have been given to us as individuals, who are expected to impact nations all by ourselves (hence, my feelings of failure). 

So how do we reconcile this? As David Sliker explained, the New Testament was written by mostly Jewish men, and the Jewish mind wasn’t trained to think individualistically. The Great Commission can only be achieved through corporate unity, and was written to us as a body. But we have interpreted “making disciples of nations" to refer to our individual “destiny” and calling. On top of that, I believe our interpretation of the Great Commission is so much informed by culture rather than the Bible, where we exalt the ones on platforms and stages with microphones in their hands and large social media followings – and in turn, despise our own small and hidden lives. 

But the truth is, greatness to the Lord is upside down. His true call to us as individuals is to live meek, humble, beautiful lives in line with the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5). 

On an individual level, the Great Commission can only be done intimately, in small ways, in the day to day. Thus, the only way we shine to the world in impacting nations is as a people together. That is the answer to the great dilemma of the Great Commission. "Discipleship happens through coffee shops and living rooms, not the stadiums. The stadiums are to get people interested in the coffee shops and living rooms" (Sliker). The Great Commission going hand in hand with the Beatitudes should give us a sense of freedom in understanding that, on an individual level, the Great Commission is achieved through a Sermon on the Mount lifestyle, and not through our own means of achieving “big impact." 

I love what Sliker said about the worth of smallness: "The true beauty and dignity of a life is one lived before the Lord in a way that moves His heart.” He encouraged us to key in to the instances in the Bible where Jesus was moved and impressed. To study the things He said were valuable and important. The Beatitudes are the ultimate statements of human greatness before the Lord, and there are many in Proverbs as well. 

Counterculture to the world's standards of greatness in the form of fame, wealth, and status, and even the church's widespread standards of greatness in the form of platforms and followings, the Lord sees beautiful the mother who is raising a child in godliness, who will worship the Lord forever on the sea of glass. He sees beautiful the missionary who is nameless and faceless to the world, but loved Him with all his heart and discipled a handful of other men who will love Him forever as well. He sees beautiful the marketplace minister who waits on the Spirit's leading and holds his possessions loosely. He sees beautiful the intercessor who has changed history with the cries of her voice, though all her life’s work has been in secret. May we be ones who are content with hiddenness and satisfied with His gaze alone. May we be ones who live before the Lord in a way that moves His heart.