Eminence is in the values of the beholder. Some self-eminence is yearned for in the individual. For the Christian, well oriented biblically, the matter of eminence is clear in that the individual Christian wants to be eminent (highly regarded and approved by God). That eminence only now and then is recognized in society, and even then may appear long after the deaths of the persons gaining human eminence. The societies of the world know little of the identity of eminent persons, even achievers by the rules of secular societies. The persons I am noting here are deserving of the honor afforded them by the granting of eminence to them. My concept of eminence is that the person gaining it has done something above the ordinary, perhaps even above others who are above the ordinary, those who contribute to the good of mankind, or what is perceived to be advancement of civilization. History follows some of them, even discovers some who receive eminence long after their death. For example, Lincoln is now perceived as eminent, arguably elevated above all presidents of the United States, with the possible exception of Washington who formed the presidency, and worked with contradictory and recalcitrant persons as did Lincoln. There is such a high opinion of Lincoln that studies have been made to discover his activity for each day of his adult life in emerging to greatness. As a young man, Lincoln wanted to do something memorable, and gave himself to worthy achievement resulting in more eminence than he ever dreamed.
If I were to ask a thousand persons to identify William Foxwell Albright, it is likely that I would get two or three responses related to his identity. He was eminent as an archaeologist, and remains so for his seminal work in the field. Long after his death, I often see his name used in professional reporting related to not only his works of discovery, but the creation of systems to unearth facts about the history of biblical lands. My young children, not yet in college at the time, have never forgotten the conversation we had with him in our home at the dinner table. They knew in their own minds, without prompting from me, they were listening to an eminent person. There was something of celebrity in it, but not necessary to any one present nor was it consciously generated from the eminent person. It was afforded as something given as respect for achievement, not for impression. In the years I worked with Billy Graham I saw his eminence grow, even when persons would try to make only a celebrity of him. Like other eminent persons he kept his focus on the goal he had set, not to be measured by acceptance or rejection, but by its achievement for good. Persons of eminence in Christian context have something in common that can be traced forward or backward in history as in Livingstone, Edwards, Luther, Augustine, the Apostle Paul and others.
My concern relates to the eminence of God. So important is God to the Christian that he is seen as perfect in his nature and conduct. His eminence is backed up in the fulfillment of his word. Part of that word relates to the eminence of human beings that follow the outline of his understanding and award for eminence. The editor of Christianity Today reviewed the ideas of a pastor/author, and included a statement that every Christian desiring to be eminent with God must embrace: The cost of discipleship is to live the life God has given us, serving in mundane ways the people he’s put in our path. This informs us for that which qualifies for recognition of eminence from God – found in faithfulness to his directives.
Most of the greats of the world do not fit the understanding of greatness as perceived by God, and that ought to be better recognized by mankind. History books include the stories of Herod the Great, Catherine the Great, and the references to Alexander the Great, seems to mean power. Herod killed even his own sons and would have killed Jesus if he had not been outsmarted; Catherine was immoral in the Royal Court; and, Alexander died before he was thirty five years of age, distressed because he had no more worlds to conquer, and was failing in a dissolute life. We can be thankful that we have given up the use of Great in modern times as part of the name of a person. We seem unsure about eminence. Currently there is effort to find out why we do not recognize greatness when it is present – as in the Lincoln story. Eligibility for eminence with God begins with humility that relates to serving others in Christ’s ministry. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020