“The enemy to being great is settling for being good.”
Author Unknown
How many of us live life thinking we are doing a good job?
If this is true, we need to ask ourselves, why then, are there still so many who don’t know Christ as their Savior?
If we are doing a good job, why then, are there so many hurting people – including other Christians – around us?
If we are doing a good job, why do we insist we need more facts or understanding about Christ before we can share the good news with others?
If we are doing a good job, why are we so afraid to share about our faith in Jesus?
Pastor Dave shared with us several things for which we should pray. Praying for these can help us go from good to great.
- Thank God for our faith and love
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Eph 1:15-16) - Pray that we will know God better
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Eph 1:16-17) - Pray that we will grow in our knowledge of God’s saving plan
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, (Eph 1:18)
How do these prayers help us answer the question, “How do we go from good to great?”
When I first met my husband, I thought he was nice (and cute) and that’s where it ended. I felt no obligation to take care of him, help raise his child, or support him while he went back to school. Twenty-two plus years later, my husband’s love for me is surpassed only by Christ’s love for me. There is nothing he (my husband) would not do for me.
Don’t believe me? One morning in 2021, I woke up from a dead sleep and said to him, “Get me out of here.” We were living in Colorado at the time. When he asked where we were going, I blurted out, “Florida.” Six weeks later, my husband retired from his job, and July 1st, we moved into our new Florida home where we knew no one.
Because of the love my husband demonstrates to me day in and day out, I am willing to do things for him that are not on my list of favorite activities. Things like cooking dinner (my brother is the executive chef, not me), helping mow the lawn, and cleaning up after the dogs. Just as my husband does things for me because he loves me, I do things for him to show my love and appreciation for him and his love for me.
We love Christ not because of the things He does for us. We love Christ because of what He did for us. He lived life as fully man experiencing the same emotions – joy, love, pain, sorry – that we feel. And then he bore a brutal beating in our stead (read Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Jesus” for a factual account of the horrors of Christ’s death). He was humiliated, spat upon, and hung naked on a cross guilty only of telling the truth about His Father in heaven. What Christ did, He did out of love for each of us.
We are not a random group of people God saved just because. No, God saved us so He could use. To hear His voice and understand His saving plan, we must develop a deep, personal relationship with Him thanking Him for our faith and love. Through prayer, being in His word daily, and keeping our eyes open, we will see the needs in our communities and be able to respond just as Christ responded to the needs of those that came to Him daily and continues to respond to those who still come to Him each day. A comforting word, a healing hug, the opportunity to help someone in a time of need. These are how we show Christ our love and thanksgiving for what He has done for us. He gave His life so we would live.
What are you living for today?
May your week be blessed!
-psg-
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