Greatness by Association

By Grant Gaines

They’re the underrated, underappreciated, overlooked things that make life so great. They’re the Robbin to every Batman. They’re the jelly on a peanut butter sandwich. They’re the salsa to a warm basket of tortilla chips. They are the sidekicks to the super heroes. They may not get the publicity, but without them, life just wouldn’t be the same.

Could the super hero still be great without the sidekick? Absolutely. Is peanut butter without jelly and tortilla chips without salsa still delightfully tasty? You better believe it! But some things are just better together.

Scottie Pippen may be the ultimate example of this. The 6’8″ power forward was the sidekick to the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. When he played alongside MJ, Pippen accumulated an impressive six NBA World Championships and was a part of the winningest team in a single NBA season in the history of basketball (72 wins in the 1995-96 season). When MJ retired to go play baseball over the 1993-95 seasons, however, Pippen and the Bulls failed to reach the championship as they had so often done in the past.

Pippen on his own was a good basketball player, but Pippen alongside Jordan was a phenomenal basketball player. The same could be said about the disciples-on their own they were a pretty talented group of individuals, but with Jesus, they were unstoppable.

That’s what the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin quickly learned when they interrogated Peter and John in Acts 4 after they had healed a crippled man one chapter earlier. The leaders wanted to know how these men were able to do such a miraculous work that no one else was able to do. Peter and John boldly responded to the members of the Sanhedrin with such an incredible, Holy-Spirit-inspired answer (Acts 4:9-12) that the jaws of the leaders fell to the floor.

In fact, Acts 4:13 (NIV) tells us what was running through these highly touted leaders’ minds when they heard the disciples response-“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV).

In somewhat of a backhanded compliment, the council of the Sanhedrin simultaneously noted that the disciples should have been, for the lack of a better word, “stupid” or “ineffective” given their lack of formal schooling, their ordinary personalities, and their minimal natural gift-sets while at the same time complimenting them for their incredible wisdom. And the key ingredient to the disciples success was, as the Sanhedrin noted, “…these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV). The disciples were sidekicks to the ultimate Hero-Jesus.

The Sanhedrin didn’t know Peter and John for their intellect, bank accounts, or public speaking skills, but rather for Who they had been spending time with!

Wouldn’t it be awesome if the same was said about us today? Instead of people knowing us for our resumes, our GPAs, or our talent, the first and most significant impression we give off should be that we have spent time with Christ. Jesus is the only thing in our lives that will really make an impact on those around us. Our humor, athleticism, and looks can only do so much; our God has no such limits!

So the challenge today is short and sweet: what do others know you for? For your fancy car, your trendy clothes, or your Rockefeller-like business savviness? Or do they know you for something more? Do your friends, family members, and strangers leave a conversation with you astonished-just as the members of the Sanhedrin were-because you have been with Jesus?

It’s ok not to be the staring actor/actress in the story that is your life. We already have Someone who went through more than we could ever imagine to become a real life Hero so that we could flourish in the role of a sidekick. If you’re going to be great, be great because the One you follow is great. Be great because you’re a child of the King. Be great by association.