“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” — Matthew 20:26b

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Outside of Norway and the sport of cross-country skiing, the name Johannes Hosflot Klaebo was pretty much unknown until the most recent Winter Olympics. A three-time Olympian and multi-time world champion, Klaebo has been quietly rewriting the history books in his sport over the past decade. Coming into the Milan-Cortina Games, he was attempting to do something nobody had ever achieved before in cross-country ski: become the first to ever go six-for-six and win every race at every distance in a single Olympics.

The world suddenly became aware of the greatness and grit of this amazing athlete. Two weeks later, Klaebo had pulled off his own version of what Michael Phelps achieved in 2008 when he swept the swimming events and went eight-for-eight. With this accomplishment, Klaebo also joined Phelps to become only the second Olympian to ever hold double-digit totals in gold medals. Greatness personified.

What is unmistakeable isn’t just Klaebo’s tremendous talent and work ethic, but also his character and his heart. In a possibly overlooked moment during the 2026 Games, Klaebo made a quiet move that caught my attention. In cross-country skiing, some events are determined by time and not just who crosses the line first, meaning some of the skiers must wait around for a while to see if their time result will hold up for a medal or a win.

Klaebo found himself in such a position during one of the races and was watching the results from the leader’s chair when he saw some of his Norwegian teammates coming across the line. Klaebo got up from his chair and made his way over to check on his exhausted teammates and congratulate them on making it to the finish. He gently placed his hand on their heaving chest and then, after saying a few words, proceeded to kneel down and remove their skis so their feet could be free and they could get up when they were ready.

The image was striking — the greatest male skier in the history of the sport stooping down to help his teammates without a second thought. It reminded me of a term Henri Nouwen used years ago called “downward mobility.” Nouwen’s premise was that so much of the world’s way is centered around upward mobility — faster, higher, stronger, get to the top at all costs, be the best — when Jesus’ call is always down.

Stop to heal the wounds of your hurting neighbor (Luke 10), wash your friend’s feet (John 13), sell all you have and give it away (Matthew 19), deny yourself and take up your cross daily (Luke 9). He is always about taking the humbler path, not seeking the way of self-advancement that is so often pushed in our society. After all, Jesus lived this Himself by giving up His divine privileges to take the position of a servant and humbling Himself by going to the cross for you and me (Philippians 2:7-8).

While it goes against everything the world will tell you, God’s way of downward mobility is the path to blessing. If you want His favor, you must be willing to go lower, deeper. To even be overlooked or unappreciated if it means being obedient to the example of Jesus and loving others well. After all, He said that in His Kingdom the whole thing is inverted, for “the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16).

— Katherine Singer

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