The difference between the good, the great, and the Divine
“… as to his human nature [he] was a descendant of David and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 1:3-4 )
There are “good” men and women who obey the laws of the land (mostly), live modest and accountable lives, and are friendly to most of the people they meet. There are “great” men and women who have excelled in their field, have impacted the human race in a positive way, and will be remembered for their extraordinary nature. And then there is Jesus.
The confession of faith says “We believe in Jesus Christ, the Word of God become flesh. He is the Savior of the world, who has delivered us from the dominion of sin and reconciled us to God by humbling himself and becoming obedient unto death on a cross. He was declared to be Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead. He is the head of the church, the exalted Lord, the Lamb who was slain, coming again to reign with God in glory. “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Starting out by being conceived through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, and growing each day in closer alignment to the nature and mission of God, Jesus was destined for supreme greatness. Then he died and arose again three days later. That kind of cinched it. And what’s more Jesus ascended to heaven and dwells as one with God. You. Just. Can’t. Top. That.
I was driving somewhere the other day, and this song came on the radio. The title was “Let my words be few” and I think the original composer is Matt Redman, but I could be wrong. The lyrics are the following:
“You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth,
So I’ll let my words be few-
Jesus I am so in love with You.
And I’ll stand in awe of You,
Yes I’ll stand in awe of You,
And I’ll let my words be few-
Jesus I am so in love with You.
The simplest of all love songs
I want to bring to You,
So I’ll let my words be few-
Jesus I am so in love with You. “
And suddenly the concerns and worries I had just dropped away as I realized that loving Jesus and living as God wants me to puts everything else into perspective and orders my priorities.
Good people makes us feel good just by knowing them. Great people inspire us to reach for greatness. But Jesus is our model and inspiration for our lives. You just can’t do better than that.
May you gentle reader look to our Lord Jesus Christ and find in his life your reason to live. Selah!
