Achieving Greatness Part 2

Continued From Achieving Greatness Part 1

We’ve already discussed how Abraham was a great man – not because of what we would describe as the great things he did – but because of the simple, faithful things he did. This is an encouraging thought because it puts greatness within the grasp of everyday people like you and me. But as I thought about the greatness that Abraham achieved, I realized he didn’t get to reap any of the benefits of that greatness in his lifetime.

God’s promises to Abraham, to make him a great nation, were to be fulfilled more than 400 years after Abraham died. Abraham also didn’t have a life like the one we think would be associated with a man of his stature. He had many trials over the course of his 175 years, even some that lasted decades. That’s not such a happy thought for those of us who get impatient with a trial that lasts more than a few months.

I realized maybe I wouldn’t be so excited if God came to me and told me that I was going to be the Abraham of the 21st century. After all, what good is greatness if you don’t even get to experience it while you’re living?

Though we don’t always say it out loud, our actions show our true feelings towards God’s offer. All to often it’s: “That’s not good enough, God. I want to be blessed NOW!” We, the citizens of the instant-gratification society, do not find a blessing that happens after we die very cool. In fact, we spend a good part of our lives making sure that we get as much blessing ASAP, even if we have to bless ourselves to get it. If we could only have a house with a little more room. A car that doesn’t break down every other month. A new 14 cup Kitchen-aide mixer with a spaghetti maker attachment.

Upon reflection of Abraham’s less than ideal “greatness”, I though of another Bible character who was used by God and had faith, but also got to be a “material girl, living in a material world” – Solomon. It made me wonder if I would respond to God: “Gee, thanks God for the offer about making me like Abraham, but.. um.. if it’s all the same to you, could you make me the Solomon of the 21st century instead?”

Why are there people like Solomon who seem to have such an easy life and yet we feel we love God just as much as they do? Why do some people get all the material blessings and comfort and others get none? You probably don’t feel like you need greatness and riches and fame like Solomon to be happy, but you wish you could just have a little comfort in life – pay your bills, be able to go on vacation with the family from time to time – simple stuff like that. But, Solomon had those simple things, and a ton more and at the end of his life he called it all vanity. In other words: worthless. What we think we want and need in life now is probably far different than what we will think we needed here on earth when we get to Heaven.

We want comfort and ease, yet these are the enemies of Godliness.

Jesus told us it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, but it’s not difficult because rich people sin more. It’s difficult because when we have everything we need we don’t need God. Solomon had the riches of the world, yet he found it necessary to marry hundreds of women and keep hundreds of concubines. Does that sound like a guy who has a firm grasp on happiness? It actually sounds like a guy who is desperately searching for something in all the wrong places and never finding it.

The more comfortable we become, the less we are inclined to spend time with God and the opposite is equally true. If our eternal goal is to become more like Jesus and we believe spending time with him helps us achieve that, then discomfort is the fastest and best way to get there. We are told this life is like a vapor: here one moment and gone the next.

Let us find our comfort in the fact that our trials draw us closer to God and no matter how long they last, they are like a vapor in light of eternity. Let us not wish for success, riches, fame, and glory, but for humility, daily provision, wisdom, and the chance to serve our Lord in the smallest and simplest of ways.

Lord, let us see our lives as you see them. Give us an eternal perspective for the challenges we face. Help us to love humility and take joy in our trials as you instructed us, because we know they draw us closer to you. Amen.

Please leave comments with your thoughts on the following questions or feel free to respond to anything else that comes to mind. You can leave comments by clicking the tweet button at the top of this article or you can click the comments link below. Whatever you tweet will be added to the disscussion of this post.

What other characters can you think of that give us light into achieving greatness?

What experience do you have with how your personal comfort level affects your relationship with God?

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 2:42 pm. It is filed under Bible Studies, Most Popular and tagged with comfort, faith, following god, greatness, happiness, provision, rest, service, trials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.