What Kind of Greatness is one of the songs from Rumours of Angels, a Christmas collection written as a full celebration of the story of the Incarnation, the astounding truth that God became flesh and lived among us.

This song is really a meditation on that mystery. It reflects on the extraordinary upside-downness of the Christmas story, the way it turns our expectations completely inside out. The King of Kings becomes a helpless baby. The One who possesses everything chooses to have nothing.

It’s a story that confounds human ideas of power and greatness, and that’s exactly what Jesus did throughout His life. He redefined what it means to be great, not through dominance or status, but through humility and love.

When He washed His disciples’ feet, He said, “If you want to be the greatest, you must be the servant of all.” That’s the heartbeat of this song. It’s a vision of greatness that stoops low, of majesty wrapped in vulnerability, of glory revealed in humility.

Musically, What Kind of Greatness often works beautifully as a choir piece, with a chorus that’s simple enough for everyone to join in. Structurally, it’s what I like to call a “revelation and response” song. The verses unveil the wonder of who God is and what He has done, the revelation, and then the chorus becomes our response:

“What else can I do, but kneel and worship You,
And come just as I am, my whole life, an offering?”

It’s a song that invites us to pause before the mystery of Christmas and to respond, not just with words, but with worship with our whole lives.

The Incarnation remains the most profound truth the world has ever known: that the One who holds the universe in His hands came down in love to serve, to suffer, and to save. And when you really begin to take that in, the only fitting response is worship.