Greatness Helps

Well, even after all the precautions I’ve been taking, I finally caught this miserable winter cold that’s been going around. I haven’t coughed this much since I quit smoking over ten years ago. Speaking of sharing things with one another, I experienced a pleasant encounter the other day. I didn’t know it at the time, but one of our local schools was engaged in “Please and Thank-You Week”. I was driving through the parking lot of a busy supermarket and near the main entrance there’s always congestion with both pedestrians and moving vehicles. A young mother with her grade school daughter stood patiently wanting to cross through the moving traffic with their basket of groceries. I stopped and motioned them to cross in front of me. While doing so the mother leaned down saying something to her daughter. With that the little girl turned toward me, with a big grin on her face, front toothless I might add, and said, “Thank-You!!” to which I replied, smiling “Your Welcome”. I certainly wanted to help mom, sharing the lesson.
Bob Richards, Olympic athlete and pole-vaulter, says, “Greatness is all around us. It’s easy to be great because great people will help you. What is fantastic about all the conventions I go to is that the greatest in the business will come and share their ideas, their methods and their techniques with everyone else. I’ve seen the greatest salesmen open up and show young salesmen exactly how they did it. They don’t hold back. I’ve also found it true in the world of sports.” Bob goes on to say, “I’ll never forget the time I was about a foot below Dutch Warmer’s pole vault record, which I was trying to break. I called him on the phone. I said, “Dutch, can you help me? I seemed to have leveled off. I can’t get any higher.” He said, “Sure Bob, come on up to visit me and I’ll give you all I’ve got.” I spent three days with the master, the greatest pole-vaulter in the world. There were things that I was doing wrong and he helped me to correct them. To make a long story short, I went up eight inches. The great guy gave me the best that he had. I’ve found that sports champions and heroes are willing to do this just so you can become great too.”
[Philippians 4: 4-9] Why did God send His son to dwell among us? To be the greatest of God’s prophets. Jesus was sent to share with all the world the loving peace and grace of His Father in heaven. People called on Jesus to heal them and listen to what He preached about the kingdom to come. He picked twelve men to become great orators of salvation and God’s saving grace. They would be instrumental in the establishment of the church and would share God’s plan for righteous living. In the beginning this new way of living was simply called “The Way”, but before too long, people began to tag the followers of Christ, Christians. Jesus taught that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven would be humble, a servant to all and the last in self-indulgence. So how does one become a great Christian? Seek out greatness, the Holy Spirit, who inspired men of God to write things of God. The Bible is our greatest source for guidance toward living a righteous life. Call upon the Master and spend some time with Him, like the rest of your life. He’s willing to help you correct the problems you might have that are holding you back from living a righteous life. Have you leveled off at just being good and helping others? Become great and share God’s plan of salvation with someone who is struggling.