The Law of Liberty (6)

“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5.19

Good to great
A popular business book of a few years back carries the title, Good to Great. It offers itself as a guide for good companies to become great ones – more productivity, better products and service, more revenue, a better standing in the world.

The book, of course, was a huge best-seller, and continues to do well, 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 spouse, vote in the next election, try to get our business to go from good to great – all this and everything else besides must be pursued 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 person makes that Kingdom turn, 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).

The Law of love
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.

Those who don’t should question whether they’ve ever made the turn into the Kingdom of God in the first place.

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. How does that work? How does keeping and teaching the Law of God lead to greatness in the Kingdom?

It’s really rather simple. The more we keep and teach the Law of God, the more we grow in love for God and our neighbors (Matt. 22.34-40), inclining us to serve them in all our speaking and doing by whatever means may be at hand. The Law teaches the way of love. Keep the Law and you will learn the priorities, protocols, and practices of love; and as you love, you will become more like Jesus, and you will serve others in love like Jesus did.

And Jesus insisted that he who would be greatest of all must be servant of all (Mk. 10.43). Kingdom greatness has nothing to do with strutting around and being admired by everyone, or throwing your weight around and offering political favors to your friends and supporters. Kingdom greatness is greatness in loving service, in denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily to follow Jesus in faith and obedience. The greatness Jesus offers is the greatness of suffering, service, and the inward assurance of His presence with us always.
The Law of God is thus the ticket from the bleachers to the box seats, from the nose bleed section of the Kingdom to the orchestra row. On the mount of transfiguration, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord it is good for us to be here.” But he wasn’t satisfied with “good.” Peter wanted “great.” He wanted to stay there permanently, basking in the glory of God as it radiated through the person of the Law-keeping Christ.

As we do so, glimpsing and adoring the face of Jesus, revealed in the Law of God, we experience the glory of God and are worked on by the indwelling Spirit, Who takes our good experience of the Lord and His Kingdom and begins to make something great of it.

Once you have truly tasted the goodness of God’s Kingdom, you won’t be content with anything other than greatness. And the Law of God marks the way to greatness through loving service to God and neighbors.

For reflection or discussion
1.      What would being great in the Kingdom look like in your daily life?

2.      Suggest some next steps you might take to move from a good experience of the Kingdom to a great one.

3.      How can Christians encourage and help one another in seeking to be great in the Kingdom of God?

Next steps: Download the free Personal Mission Field worksheet, map out your Personal Mission Field, and discover the people and places among whom you might begin to know more of the greatness of Christ’s Kingdom.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 8 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “The Law of Liberty” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.