Greatness Among Us

Over 200 years ago, in the year 1809, the international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was

sweeping through Austria, destroying all who stood in his way. The world was

watching as Napoleon was making his move to dominate the world. Nobody then

was concerned about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly

significant births.



For example, William Gladstone was born that year. He was destined to become

one of England's finest statesmen. That same year, Alfred Tennyson was born

to an obscure minister and his wife. The child would one day greatly affect

the literary world in a marked manner.



On the American continent, Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge,

Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his

eventful, albeit tragic, life. That same year produced the cries of a newborn

infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. The baby's name?

Abraham Lincoln.



If there had been news broadcasts at that time, I'm certain these words would

have been heard: "The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian

battlefield today." But history was actually being shaped in the cradles of

England and America. Similarly, everyone thought taxation was the big news

when Jesus was born. But a young Jewish woman cradled the biggest news of

all-the birth of the Saviour.



Today’s concerns have us mindful of the politician or leader “ruining the country” or the athletes who are poor examples to every child. But I wonder if we should instead be mindful of the student in the classroom and who he/she could be. Who is it, that sits in our Sunday School or in our JCA classroom as a child, that will do something wondrous for God if we train him/her right? Few knew of Abe Lincoln’s greatness until adulthood. Few knew of Jesus’s greatness until the end of His earthly life.



How many great adults sit in our midst as children? We don’t know, so we must teach them as if greatness Is before us each day.