Devo: "Living Large: Living Great!"
Living Large; Living Great!
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord….” (Luke 1:15)
G.O.A.T. is term used in athletic circles to describe an athlete as the “greatest of all time”. When an athlete is called the “greatest of all time”, the athlete has accomplished great exploits in his or her sport and as a result the person is well known and remembered by people who are followers of that sport.
In the Holy Bible, the Greek word for “great”, has meaning to be “large or big”. Great is a term that is used in scripture to describe a large number, large size, or big price of people, places, things or acts.
Numerous times in the Word of God, the phrase, “the small and the great” is used to describe individual persons. (Revelations 11:15; 19:5; 20:12). When the term “great” is used in reference people, I believe it is used to describe someone who is living “large”. In other words, a person is saying something or doing something so big that it causes his or her life to be heard or recognized by others. “Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” (Acts 8:9–10) Notice Simon was living life and doing large feats that was causing him to be seen and heard by people. The reason why individuals in the world want be great is because it gives them attention with people, and it gives them the authority to rule over others in some manner (Matthew 20:25). Being great in the world is to receive authority to rule over others and receive the riches of the world.
Being great in the eyes of the world is completely different than being great in the eyes of God. Being great in the world does not release the authority and riches of God.
How we are called great by God is different than how we are called great in the world. John the Baptist was called “great in the sight of God”, because he lived his life totally set apart to the Lord (Acts 1:15; Acts 13:25).
A person who does the truth of God and as a result teaches the truth of God, will be “called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19). With God, it is not the teaching of truth that makes someone great, it is the doing the truth that makes someone great.
Faith causes things to be noticed in Heaven. Twice Jesus declared over people their faith was great. In both situations, the greatness of their faith released the power of God into their situations (Matthew 8:10, 15:28).
In the world, ruling and exercising authority over others is how a person becomes great. But with God, using authority to serve others is how we become great. “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant…” (Matthew 20:25–26) Jesus lived so large not because He had the most authority. Jesus lived large because He took the authority He had and He served. As a result, the resurrection power of God was released into His life, and His name became the greatest or largest name in all of creation.
God has called us to live “large”. Living large is not us trying to be big and to be seen. Living large occurs in us when we totally submit to God’s purposes; therefore, allowing God to express His largeness and greatness in and through us. The men and women of God in scripture, did not seek to be great in the world. They sought to be great in the sight of God and as a result God’s greatness was released in and through them.