Greatness

Psalms 73:24 (NLT) “You will keep on guiding me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.”

A man must believe deep in his chest-even further, down into his gut that there is something worth pursuing or he dies. It is incredibly empowering to believe in a glorious destiny! But if a man can see nothing that transcends his natural desires he will just give in to them.

“Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” Gal. 6:8

A man needs to believe that God can do something great in him and through him. Jesus knew this and challenged his followers with these words:

"The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” John 14:12

I don’t know about you, but if I actually heard Jesus say that to me, it would light a fire in me. Jesus knew that men desire greatness. Why? Because He is their creator and He hard-wired the desire in. God is great and does great things (understatement). Don’t we think that a great God leads men to do great things? OF COURSE we might say, but if you asked the average person where they might go to learn greatness they would not say the local church.

One reason this is true is because of the humility police who quickly come in to calm us down and assure that greatness is found in “little things”. Don’t get me wrong faithfulness is determined by little things, but men desire greatness. The humility police would tell us that glory belongs to God, and they are right. But greatness is not glory, it is the reflection of God’s glory. Jesus went on to explain to His disciples that our “great works” are what brought “glory to the Father”.

Jesus knew also that the desire to be great could be misused for selfish reasons so He gave further definition by telling His followers that to become “great” is achieved as we walk through life sacrificially giving ourselves away to others. Jesus did not rebuke his disciples for wanting greatness but showed them the pathway there. No man is recognized for greatness through what he takes for himself but what he gives. This is why Jesus was the greatest ever.

What did God tell Abraham but that “I will bless you and make your name great”? (Gen. 12:12) Like any “good” father, God wants His children to grow up and become great men and women. He will lead us on this path if we choose to follow.

The pathway of greatness is not one that every person will tread; in fact, only a few ever will. But the possibility of greatness must be set before our men. They need to see how they can make the world a better place. A man needs to know that others will be better because of who he becomes during his challenging journey toward authentic manhood or he may not take the trip at all.
May our men see a vision of greatness!
May our church inspire them toward it!
May our men be challenged to pursue destiny with God!
May Jesus lead us all the way!

Chris
Current weekend series: "You've Got Male"