1 Samuel 17:20-37; Colossians 3:23-24

Many people want to be great. Many want to make a name for themselves. This desire is evidenced in every avenue of daily life. We witness it in our schools, on our jobs, even in our families. Sadly this desire is not lessened in the Church. There is nothing inherently wrong with desiring to be great. Jesus, himself, told us that we would do even greater things than He did as we operate in His power and authority because He was going to the Father. The problem, however, is that this quest becomes more about competition than character. The gospel writers tell us that even the disciples, those closest to Jesus when He physically walked this earth, jockeyed for greatness based upon positioning according to rank (Matthew 18:1-5). They did so because they completely misunderstood how it was that Jesus was great and what they had to do to be like Him.

From the beginning of creation we, you and me, have been destined for greatness. We were commissioned to go forth, have dominion and subdue the earth, but greatness is not something that just falls to us. It is not something that belongs to us by default. Greatness is, like so many other things in the Kingdom, something we must consciously position ourselves to receive. Greatness is not about chance. It is not about being in the right place at the right time. It is not about the money one makes or even the titles one acquires. Many people achieve a level of greatness that becomes a source of encouragement to others through measures other than what I espouse here. But true greatness comes through our relatedness to God and can only be achieved as we get ourselves into the right position. I want to suggest four things from the life of David as he set out to confront the giant Goliath that I believe emulated will position us for the kind of humble greatness to which we have been called.

1. Know who you are and what you can do (vss. 34-37). If we don’t know who we are then we won’t know what to do. Could it be that one of the reasons we are powerless is because we operate out of insecurity instead of identity.

2. Once you know who you are, begin to walk in it (vss. 38-40). Do not try to be someone or something you are not. We have to become it, before we can do it. Doing flows out of being.

3. Display confidence, not arrogance (vss. 45-47). In most Churches we are great talkers, but terrible doers. We have more information than any generation but we are doing the least.

4. Do everything as if you are serving the Lord (vs. 46; Colossians 3:23-24). It is from Jesus you will receive a reward. It is through Jesus you will accomplish great things.

Who doesn’t want to be great? Who doesn’t want to leave to leave a legacy of greatness? Who doesn’t want to be remembered long after their time on earth here is done? Many will do things just to get noticed. Many will engage in activities, align themselves with people and/or organizations, enroll in the right schools, many into the right family, or even join the right church just to have the opportunity to be considered great. I am not afraid of greatness. My ego is just as large as the next person, but I am far more interested in how the Lord will regard me. For all the things I may or may not be remembered I just want to hear my Lord say, “well done, my good and faithful servant, well done.”

I know it sounds trite and a bit of a cliché, but the only person I am interested in impressing is the Lord.

© All Rights Reserved – 2013 • Dr. Jim Logan