"So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in." (Acts 25:23, ESV).

In our world, true greatness is often clouded by grandiosity, beauty, and pomp. But I want to share with you a little passage concerning Paul's life. It has often recalibrated my mind, showing me what greatness looks like.

There, in Caesarea, Paul was imprisoned for a number of years. Eventually, he was brought before Agrippa and others to proclaim his innocence. They came in with great pomp and grandiosity. They were a magnificent spectacle.

Then "Paul was brought in" -- so basic, so simple, so humble.

One can imagine the principalities and powers -- Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus -- coming in, in all of their royal apparel, seeming to be great.

And then the prisoner, Paul, in shackles, in chains, came in to state his case.

In that room, in that place, in that Roman province, the outward eye would see greatness all around, but not in Paul.

But in the mind of God, who was great? Paul was great. The others were imposters. But Paul was a man of God. He was chosen by God, loved by God in Christ Jesus, and serving his God. He lived out the calling of God upon his life. Greater than Agrippa, greater than Bernice, greater than any Festus, Paul the Apostle stood.

Let us allow our Lord -- not our world -- to define true greatness for us.