Great in the Sight of the Lord!

Luke 1:13-17 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. (17) And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 

Is mediocrity our goal?  Are we satisfied with just getting by?  Do we want to do just barely enough?

Most folks don’t have this attitude when it comes to many aspects of their lives.  People generally don’t want to be mediocre as a parent.  Folks typically don’t participate in a hobby just to get by.  But somehow, Christianity is something that many people do just enough.

On the other hand, as the birth of John the Baptist is being announced, it is told that he will be GREAT.  If the average person has the choice to be great versus being mediocre, most will choose greatness.  Does anyone really want to be less than ordinary?  So if people don’t really WANT to be mediocre why do we tend to act that way in certain circumstances?  Because we don’t want to put forth the effort.

So what made John the Baptist great?  Several Characteristics are given

1.  Shall not drink Drink Wine or strong Drink

2.  Shall Be filled with the Holy Spirit

3.  Many children of Israel will be turned to God

4.  Shall prepare the People for the coming of Jesus

While these characteristics and/or actions may not specifically apply to us because John was an Israelite and we are talking about christianity, there are some generalizations that can be made.  First we know from this and other verses about John, that he was not influenced by the trappings of this world.  That allowed him to focus his attention on serving God.  Secondly, he actively did the work of God.  He was a preacher and he turned many people to God.

Do you really only want to get by with God?  Or do you want to be GREAT in the sight of God?  Like John, to be great we need to focus our attention on him and we need to actively serve him. Let’s all aim for GREATNESS today!