What does it mean to be "GREAT"?
I have been working through a concept that a friend of mine challenged me on a couple weeks ago and want to take some time working through the different elements of it.
He said...
"Great men and Women have to learn how to manage their Insecurity and Uncertainty in order to become Great." Basically, he was trying to make the point that Great people are lead into places where they do not have what it takes and to places they have never been before. That is part of what makes them great. He also said that not all people would be considered... "Great".
So what makes a person "Great"? Who do you know who is great? Does the ability to dunk make you great? Maybe... Does a large church, profitable business, private plane or face on the cover of a magazine make you great? Maybe... but If that is all they are or do then I am not sure that constitutes greatness. I am not even sure if their name is in a history book that they are all that great. It seems that we often will hear contradicting or major flaws in the character of some of the supposedly great men in History. So what makes a person great?
I consider my grandfather a great man. He died when I was 16 but my family still loves to tell stories of his life and the people he touched. He was not- a politician, a well known person outside of his town and family, an inventor, a crazy wealthy man, His family will tell you he was an awful singer... wasn't all that great looking and was a little over weight. BUT HE WAS GREAT!
I know what your thinking... he was your grandfather and he died of cancer so you have to honer him and say that... NOPE.
He was great because he understood a law of God... He understood that God wanted him to use what God had given him (time, talents, money, resources, love, voice, etc.) to his fullest. He maximized his potential.
Gods word tells a story of a master and his servants in Mathew 25. The master goes away and leaves his servants in charge of parts of his estate. Some had more talents than others but all were given the responsibility Each one used what he had been given to increase it except one. This is how the master responded to the Great Servants.
21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
So what makes a person "Great"? Who do you know who is great? Does the ability to dunk make you great? Maybe... Does a large church, profitable business, private plane or face on the cover of a magazine make you great? Maybe... but If that is all they are or do then I am not sure that constitutes greatness. I am not even sure if their name is in a history book that they are all that great. It seems that we often will hear contradicting or major flaws in the character of some of the supposedly great men in History. So what makes a person great?
I consider my grandfather a great man. He died when I was 16 but my family still loves to tell stories of his life and the people he touched. He was not- a politician, a well known person outside of his town and family, an inventor, a crazy wealthy man, His family will tell you he was an awful singer... wasn't all that great looking and was a little over weight. BUT HE WAS GREAT!
I know what your thinking... he was your grandfather and he died of cancer so you have to honer him and say that... NOPE.
He was great because he understood a law of God... He understood that God wanted him to use what God had given him (time, talents, money, resources, love, voice, etc.) to his fullest. He maximized his potential.
Gods word tells a story of a master and his servants in Mathew 25. The master goes away and leaves his servants in charge of parts of his estate. Some had more talents than others but all were given the responsibility Each one used what he had been given to increase it except one. This is how the master responded to the Great Servants.
21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
We serve at the pleasure of the King... of our Master... of our God. It is our responsibility to obey what he calls us to do. But that is based on the talents he gives. To some he will give a few and to others he will give a lot. The master didn't expect his servants to all come up with the same amount at the end of the day... he simply asked that they leverage what he gave them to the fullest. One servant was given a little and did nothing with it. NOTHING!
My Grandfather was great because he shared Christ with people all the time as they were buying a used car at his dealership. He was great because he served at the church, gave to the church, tithed, loved his family, honored his wife, was faithful with the little God gave him and gave His master an amazing return on his investment.
At my grandfathers funeral... the line of cars from the packed 1200 seat auditorium to the grave site went several miles. People came to honor a great man that left an amazing legacy. He maximized his potential!
What has God given you? What talents, abilities, gifting, resources has he given you? If you are going to be Great. The first thing we have to do is look for opportunities to use them. Pour them out.
Let me leave you with this thought. A man a of God I respect had been giving a lot of money over the last 20 years to a missionary I respect. The man had made millions in his life and because of this down turn in the economy now has lost millions. He told the missionary... (I am paraphrasing)
I was rationing out my money, giving what I could at the time because I wanted to have enough until the end. Now, I have lost millions of dollars in this downturn. I could have given that money but now it has disappeared. GONE! I am no longer concerned with having enough at the end... Now is the time to Give all I can while I have it because their are no Guarantees. the end. Millions of
Give, Lead, Step out in faith... You have 1 life to live, One shot at making the most of your life and so to be Great all you have to do is regularly maximize the gifts God has given you.
(look for part 3 soon)
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