“For what nation is there so great, who hath God so near unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?” Deuteronomy 4:7
Dear Ones:
In John’s first letter, he writes: “For the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.” (2:17) When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the four empires, which had not yet come to pass, he wrote: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 2:44) What constitutes “greatness?” Is it the quality of enduring, or the essence of “goodness?” It has been said that, “America is great because she is good.” There is great truth in this. However, the question must be asked, “From where comes this goodness, this everlasting quality of wholesomeness, rightness, and perfection?
When God through Moses addressed the People of Israel, before they entered into the promised land, and before Moses died, He spoke to the them concerning true greatness. Men are apt to define “greatness” by comparing themselves with one another, the one possessing the most talents, gifts, and accomplishes the most, is “great.” But what does God say? There are two elements to greatness. The first is the proximity of God. “For what nation is there so great who has God so near to them?” (4:7) Though God is omnipresent, in every place at all times, He is particularly “present,” and actively working for good to, and through, those who truly believe Him. An example of this reality is found in what Jesus said about prayer: “…For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20) Christ is always present by His Spirit, but He is especially present and working in the hearts of believers who are gathered together in His name. The proximity to God, or rather, His proximity to us, constitutes the first essential to greatness, for we bask in the light of, and experience the power of, His greatness.
The second aspect, or element for “greatness” has to do with His word. Again in Deuteronomy we read: “And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all the law, which I set before you today?” (4:8) The word of God, His law, is the great pathway that leads us to Christ, not only by delivering us from the deception and twisted concepts of man’s thinking, but by bringing us to seek the Great, and Almighty Savior, who saves. The “greatness” of His law, as opposed to the variable, ever-changing, twisted and corrupt, “laws” of men, lifts up nations, as well as individuals, from the squalor of sin and decadence, to the heights of goodness and grace.
True greatness if found in God, in Christ, in His nearness, and in His words. The nearness of God brings us to see and understand the motivating love of God, and the consequent empowering of the Spirit, to “leave the world behind,” in order to follow Him. The word of God is that blessed provision of God whereby His greatness is objectively revealed to the helpless and hopeless soul, according to which he or she can believe, and KNOW God.
It has been said that a nation cannot rise higher than that which is preached in its churches. The true, everlasting greatness of a nation, or of an individual for that manner, regardless of their social standing, is found in the nearness of God, because of a seeking heart and dependence upon Him. That imparted greatness of God to the heart and soul of a nation or individual will also depend upon the reception and adherence to the “greatness” of the word of God. To neglect either of these two elements, is to embrace that which will pass away, that which will be destroyed. Greatness is of God, of Christ, and that greatness shall NOT pass away.
Dear Father, open our eyes to see, and to grasp Thy greatness. Grant us to see that true greatness is of God by virtue of Your presence and Your truth. Give us hearts that pursue Thee, and Thy Son, to know Him, and to walk in His ways. Then Thy greatness shall be revealed in us, a “greatness” that is not of this world, but is ever lasting. We praise and thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad