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“…but whoever does [the commandments] and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5.19
A popular business book these days carries the title, Good to Great. It guides good companies to become great ones – more productivity, better products and service, more revenue, a better standing in the world.
The book, of course, is a huge best-seller, because anyone who has a good business has had a taste of how exhilarating that can be. Naturally, therefore, he’d like to get from good to great, and this book is evidently helping many businesses to fulfill that desire.
Jesus said that the highest priority of every Christian is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6.33). Whatever else we do – make a living, raise a family, play sports, take care of the lawn, love our wives, vote in the next election – all this and everything else besides must be accomplished within the overall framework of seeking the Kingdom of God.
Kingdom-seeking thus becomes a full-time calling that embraces and transforms every aspect of our lives. Once a believer starts to do that, and begins to realize how good, how truly good it is to live in the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, he will understand that this is what life is all about (Rom. 14.17, 18).
And if we really taste the goodness of God and His Kingdom, we won’t be satisfied. Good is good, to be sure; but if it is possible to go from good to great in the Kingdom of God, most of us, I think, would want to move on to that higher plateau. Jesus said it is possible to go from good to great in the Kingdom. All you have to do is keep the Law of God and teach others to do so as well.
The Law of God, it seems, can liberate us for greatness in the Kingdom of God.
The psalmist says that the righteous person meditates day and night in God’s Law (Ps. 1). Would like to get started in this discipline? Order a copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics and The Law of God. The first will explain the importance3 of God’s Law, and guide you in taking up the practice of daily reading and meditation. The second provides all the statutes, precepts, and rules of God’s Law organized under their proper number of the Ten Commandments.