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At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" – Matthew 18:1-3
There is within each of us a competitive spirit that comes naturally when necessary. It forces us to evaluate our standing in life against that of those around us. There are times when a woman will look at another woman pushing a baby stroller and resentment may rise because the first woman is unable to have children. There are times when a man looks at another man’s car or home and is deep with envy and jealousy over the material possessions that he has been unable to obtain. At work, how many times are you challenged by a supervisor to work harder like so and so? Certainly in the area of sports the competitive spirit flows freely and often times destroys individuals dreams and aspirations in life.
God charges us to be humble and to be child-like in our faith. We often find ourselves judging our walk with the Lord against our neighbor, friend or family member. I cannot count the number of times I have heard a fellow Christian make a rude or judgmental comment about another person. This could not be farther from the representation of God’s love for mankind. Calling out the weakness’ of another’s person walk with Christ is never going to strengthen your walk with Christ.
Think about it this way. We all look at the great evangelist’s and unintentionally (or sometimes intentionally) we begin ranking them on a scale against the accomplishments of their peers. For example: Take this list: Billy Graham, Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, Joel Osteen, Nic Vujicic, Michael W. Smith, Pope John Paul II, Charles Spurgeon and Jim Elliot. Who is the greatest? If you had a scale from 1 to 100 would any of these individuals fall below 95 on that scale? Now ask yourself this question: Where are you on that scale? I might be in the 5-10 range if I’m brutally honest with myself, looking at it from my perspective.
Now, think about that same list of individuals and add the other 10-12 billion people in history to the list. Is Jesus Christ death, resurrection and sacrifice any more valid for the above list of 10 individuals than it is for you? The answer is an emphatic “NO”. Jesus Christ died once for the propitiation of mankind’s sins. We are all offered the same grace and eternal glory that is available to the Saints, Popes, and greatest evangelists of all time. So, from the perspective of salvation we are on par with every other person. The differences come from what you are doing with the gift that was provided to you.
The reason we hold these individuals and others like them in high esteem, is that we admire their contribution to the Kingdom whilst here on earth. They have chosen to give it all and pursue God’s call on their life with everything they have. They have helped or are helping others discover the love of Jesus Christ, and they are doing it for God’s glory, not their own. You are given that same opportunity in life, but are you doing anything about it? Your eternal destination is set, and that’s a great thing. The real question is are you helping anyone else set their’s in place along side of you. What you do for God’s Kingdom while you are here on this earth is your daily purpose, once you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord and secured your eternal peace. I don’t care how old you are, the challenge is still before you. The disciple John wrote the entire book of Revelation in his late years while he was on the island of Patmos, banished there by the Romans. Billy Graham stood in a pulpit just four years ago, in his 90’s and preached an incredible sermon of redemption and grace. So get up, quit making excuses and go do something for God today.
God charges us to be humble and to be child-like in our faith. We often find ourselves judging our walk with the Lord against our neighbor, friend or family member. I cannot count the number of times I have heard a fellow Christian make a rude or judgmental comment about another person. This could not be farther from the representation of God’s love for mankind. Calling out the weakness’ of another’s person walk with Christ is never going to strengthen your walk with Christ.
Think about it this way. We all look at the great evangelist’s and unintentionally (or sometimes intentionally) we begin ranking them on a scale against the accomplishments of their peers. For example: Take this list: Billy Graham, Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, Joel Osteen, Nic Vujicic, Michael W. Smith, Pope John Paul II, Charles Spurgeon and Jim Elliot. Who is the greatest? If you had a scale from 1 to 100 would any of these individuals fall below 95 on that scale? Now ask yourself this question: Where are you on that scale? I might be in the 5-10 range if I’m brutally honest with myself, looking at it from my perspective.
Now, think about that same list of individuals and add the other 10-12 billion people in history to the list. Is Jesus Christ death, resurrection and sacrifice any more valid for the above list of 10 individuals than it is for you? The answer is an emphatic “NO”. Jesus Christ died once for the propitiation of mankind’s sins. We are all offered the same grace and eternal glory that is available to the Saints, Popes, and greatest evangelists of all time. So, from the perspective of salvation we are on par with every other person. The differences come from what you are doing with the gift that was provided to you.
The reason we hold these individuals and others like them in high esteem, is that we admire their contribution to the Kingdom whilst here on earth. They have chosen to give it all and pursue God’s call on their life with everything they have. They have helped or are helping others discover the love of Jesus Christ, and they are doing it for God’s glory, not their own. You are given that same opportunity in life, but are you doing anything about it? Your eternal destination is set, and that’s a great thing. The real question is are you helping anyone else set their’s in place along side of you. What you do for God’s Kingdom while you are here on this earth is your daily purpose, once you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord and secured your eternal peace. I don’t care how old you are, the challenge is still before you. The disciple John wrote the entire book of Revelation in his late years while he was on the island of Patmos, banished there by the Romans. Billy Graham stood in a pulpit just four years ago, in his 90’s and preached an incredible sermon of redemption and grace. So get up, quit making excuses and go do something for God today.
© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
If you would like to be added to the email distribution please click here: Daily Thoughts
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