Three Pictures of Greatness: Patience, Love, and Dependence
In our journey of faith, we often encounter teachings that challenge our understanding of what it means to be truly great. On Sunday, we explored three profound pictures of greatness that can transform our perspective and deepen our relationship with God and others.
1. The Great Patience of God
Imagine a vineyard owner who repeatedly sends servants to collect what is rightfully his, only to have them beaten, wounded, and even killed by the tenants. Despite this cruel treatment, the owner persists, eventually sending his beloved son. This parable, drawn from Isaiah 5, illustrates God's incredible patience with humanity.
How often do we, like those tenants, take advantage of God's mercies? We may falsely believe that God is too distant to care about our actions or too loving to hold us accountable. Yet, this story reminds us that while God's patience is vast, it is not endless. Our response to His patience matters eternally.
Romans 2:4 beautifully captures this truth: "Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" God's patience is not a license for complacency but an invitation to turn our hearts toward Him.
2. The Great Command: Love God and Love Others
A scribe once asked Jesus about the greatest commandment. Jesus' response was profound yet simple: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This teaching, rooted in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, reveals that true worship goes beyond rituals and sacrifices – it's about love.
But here's the challenging part: loving our neighbors isn't always easy. Some people in our lives may be difficult, unkind, or even hostile towards us. Yet, Jesus teaches that there's an unbreakable link between loving God and loving others – even those we find unlovable.
This command calls us to:
- Refrain from stealing, harming, or slandering others
- Let go of anger and unforgiveness
- Show mercy and seek justice
- Treat others as we wish to be treated
Importantly, this kind of love isn't possible through our own strength. It requires the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We must be cautious of putting on a show of loving God while harboring hatred or grudges against others. True worship necessarily involves loving both God and our fellow human beings.
3. Great Dependence: The Widow's Offering
Picture Jesus sitting in the temple, observing people making their offerings. The wealthy make a show of dropping large sums into the treasury. Then, a poor widow approaches and places two small copper coins – worth barely anything – into the offering.
Surprisingly, Jesus declares that this widow has given more than all the others. Why? Because while the rich gave out of their abundance, she gave all she had to live on. Her offering demonstrated great dependence on and trust in God.
This story teaches us several valuable lessons:
- God is attentive to our giving
- True giving is measured by sacrifice, not by amount
- Our heart attitude matters more than the size of our gift
The widow's two coins have gone down in history as one of the most generous gifts ever given, not because of their monetary value, but because of the great love and dependence on God they represented.
Living Out These Truths
These three pictures of greatness challenge us to examine our own lives. Are we taking advantage of God's patience, or are we responding to His kindness with repentance and gratitude? Do we truly love both God and our neighbors – even the difficult ones? And in our giving – of time, resources, or love – are we operating out of abundance or sacrificial dependence on God?
The story of Joseph Kim, a North Korean refugee, beautifully illustrates how these principles can be lived out. Fleeing starvation and loss, Kim encountered Christians in China who showed him extraordinary kindness at great personal risk. A pastor's wife, despite her own poverty, offered him money and shelter. Later, a woman he called "Grandma" took him in, taught him to pray, and introduced him to the Bible.
These acts of sacrificial love and dependence on God not only met Kim's physical needs but also led him to faith in Christ. Their example of living out God's love in practical, costly ways transformed a desperate situation into a story of hope and redemption.
As we reflect on these three pictures of greatness – God's patience, the command to love, and the beauty of dependent giving – may we be inspired to live differently. Let's not take God's patience for granted but respond to it with grateful hearts. May we love others sacrificially, even when it's challenging. And in our giving, whether of material resources or of ourselves, may we do so with hearts fully dependent on God.
True greatness, as defined by God, often looks different from what the world values. It's found in patient endurance, in loving the unlovable, and in giving sacrificially. As we aspire to this kind of greatness, may our lives become a melody of thanks, an expression of wonder at God's beauty and splendor.
Remember, in the end, it's not about what we can bring to God – for what can we truly offer the Creator of all things? Instead, it's about recognizing the grace we've been given in Jesus Christ and allowing that grace to transform how we live and love. For as the song reminds us, "What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give."
Let us then live lives that echo the words of the Chronicler: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and you exalt yourself as head over all." In embracing God's definition of greatness, may we find our lives rising to praise Him, day by day, until the race is complete.
In Christ,
1. The Great Patience of God
Imagine a vineyard owner who repeatedly sends servants to collect what is rightfully his, only to have them beaten, wounded, and even killed by the tenants. Despite this cruel treatment, the owner persists, eventually sending his beloved son. This parable, drawn from Isaiah 5, illustrates God's incredible patience with humanity.
How often do we, like those tenants, take advantage of God's mercies? We may falsely believe that God is too distant to care about our actions or too loving to hold us accountable. Yet, this story reminds us that while God's patience is vast, it is not endless. Our response to His patience matters eternally.
Romans 2:4 beautifully captures this truth: "Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" God's patience is not a license for complacency but an invitation to turn our hearts toward Him.
2. The Great Command: Love God and Love Others
A scribe once asked Jesus about the greatest commandment. Jesus' response was profound yet simple: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This teaching, rooted in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, reveals that true worship goes beyond rituals and sacrifices – it's about love.
But here's the challenging part: loving our neighbors isn't always easy. Some people in our lives may be difficult, unkind, or even hostile towards us. Yet, Jesus teaches that there's an unbreakable link between loving God and loving others – even those we find unlovable.
This command calls us to:
- Refrain from stealing, harming, or slandering others
- Let go of anger and unforgiveness
- Show mercy and seek justice
- Treat others as we wish to be treated
Importantly, this kind of love isn't possible through our own strength. It requires the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We must be cautious of putting on a show of loving God while harboring hatred or grudges against others. True worship necessarily involves loving both God and our fellow human beings.
3. Great Dependence: The Widow's Offering
Picture Jesus sitting in the temple, observing people making their offerings. The wealthy make a show of dropping large sums into the treasury. Then, a poor widow approaches and places two small copper coins – worth barely anything – into the offering.
Surprisingly, Jesus declares that this widow has given more than all the others. Why? Because while the rich gave out of their abundance, she gave all she had to live on. Her offering demonstrated great dependence on and trust in God.
This story teaches us several valuable lessons:
- God is attentive to our giving
- True giving is measured by sacrifice, not by amount
- Our heart attitude matters more than the size of our gift
The widow's two coins have gone down in history as one of the most generous gifts ever given, not because of their monetary value, but because of the great love and dependence on God they represented.
Living Out These Truths
These three pictures of greatness challenge us to examine our own lives. Are we taking advantage of God's patience, or are we responding to His kindness with repentance and gratitude? Do we truly love both God and our neighbors – even the difficult ones? And in our giving – of time, resources, or love – are we operating out of abundance or sacrificial dependence on God?
The story of Joseph Kim, a North Korean refugee, beautifully illustrates how these principles can be lived out. Fleeing starvation and loss, Kim encountered Christians in China who showed him extraordinary kindness at great personal risk. A pastor's wife, despite her own poverty, offered him money and shelter. Later, a woman he called "Grandma" took him in, taught him to pray, and introduced him to the Bible.
These acts of sacrificial love and dependence on God not only met Kim's physical needs but also led him to faith in Christ. Their example of living out God's love in practical, costly ways transformed a desperate situation into a story of hope and redemption.
As we reflect on these three pictures of greatness – God's patience, the command to love, and the beauty of dependent giving – may we be inspired to live differently. Let's not take God's patience for granted but respond to it with grateful hearts. May we love others sacrificially, even when it's challenging. And in our giving, whether of material resources or of ourselves, may we do so with hearts fully dependent on God.
True greatness, as defined by God, often looks different from what the world values. It's found in patient endurance, in loving the unlovable, and in giving sacrificially. As we aspire to this kind of greatness, may our lives become a melody of thanks, an expression of wonder at God's beauty and splendor.
Remember, in the end, it's not about what we can bring to God – for what can we truly offer the Creator of all things? Instead, it's about recognizing the grace we've been given in Jesus Christ and allowing that grace to transform how we live and love. For as the song reminds us, "What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give."
Let us then live lives that echo the words of the Chronicler: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and you exalt yourself as head over all." In embracing God's definition of greatness, may we find our lives rising to praise Him, day by day, until the race is complete.
In Christ,
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