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

Our highest priority
A popular business book of a few years ago carries the title, Good to Great. Its purpose is to guide good companies to become great ones – more productive and profitable, better products and services, more revenue, a better standing in the world.

Moving from good to great: what business wouldn’t want that?

The book, of course, was a huge best-seller, because anyone who has a good business has had a taste of how exhilarating that can be. Naturally, therefore, such a person would like to get from good to great, and this book evidently has helped 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, be active in church – 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). This is the good life, as God intends it.

From good to great
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. Something in our soul, whetted with the notion of greatness, longs to realize it. The mind strives to conceive it; the heart greatly desires it; and the conscience makes it a priority in everything.

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 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 by whatever means may be at hand. The Law teaches the way of love, and love becomes the highest value and priority of the conscience. Keep the Law, and you will learn the priorities, protocols, and practices of love, and, as you love, you will serve like Jesus did. And He promised that he who would be greatest of all must be servant of all (Mk. 10.43).

Further, keeping the Law allows us to know the filling of the Spirit, to escape the clutches of the Lie – in all its forms – and to refract the glory of God into every arena of our lives, all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities.

Ticket to greatness
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. It can set us free from the morass of a “good enough” faith into the glory and joy of greatness in the Kingdom of God.

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. It was good to be there with Jesus in His glory. But it would have been great to abide there permanently, in the fullness of joy and pleasure forever more of our glorious Lord and King (Ps. 16.11).

Once you have truly tasted the goodness of God’s Kingdom, you won’t be content with anything other than greatness. Any businessman who is content for his company to merely good when the way to greatness is clearly explained, is probably setting his company up, not for continuing goodness, but for inevitable mediocrity. Striving for greatness in the Kingdom of God will define the way we seek the Kingdom, as the Law of God becomes embedded in our mind, etched into our heart, and established in our conscience.

Any Christian who says to himself, “My faith is good enough for me,” and who does not desire to be great in the Kingdom, is thinking only about himself, and not about the needs of his neighbors, or the expectations of our Lord. Jesus challenges us to go from good to great in the Kingdom of God.

And the way to greatness is defined along the path marked out by the Law of God.

For reflection
1.  Inyour own life as a Christian, what would it mean for you to go from “good to great”?

2.  “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 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 serve like Jesus did. And He promised that he who would be greatest of all must be servant of all (Mk. 10.43).” How does the Law of God equip us for serving others?

3.  If “the way to greatness is defined along the path marked out by the Law of God”, what are the implications of this for you? How can Kingdom greatness become a defining priority of your conscience?

Next steps – Transformation: What’s one thing you can do to begin moving from “good to great” in your Christian life? Talk with a Christian friend about this.

T. M. Moore

This is part 2 of an 8-part series on Purifying the Conscience. To download this week’s study as a free PDF, click here.

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