Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
​(2 Samuel 7:22)

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
​(Luke 1:32)

Who is really great, and are you great?

The word “Great” has a rather simple definition, “of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average.” So what is normal or average? That is the better question. If we could decide on normal or average we could then get to a better idea of great. Because everyone wants to be considered great, don’t you?

Of course.

So what is normal? “Conforming to a standard, typical.” Who is typical? And who decides on the standard? Lots of questions, but to get to great you must ask them. I am very typical for a man of 50 in height (5’ 10”), weight (none of your business), and shoe size (10). I am built like an average square man, very typical. My wife would not say I am typical at all, she claims I am weird. So do my kids.

When it comes to sports what team is typical? The Golden State Warriors? No, they are great. But my neighbor has a kid in ABYT and he says their team is great. I would hate for them to play the Golden State Warriors. So it depends on age, school size, gender, and of course the competition you play. I was once on a great basketball team, we never lost a game – does it matter if the competition we played against never played basketball before? It doesn’t matter, we were still great at that moment.

So greatness is determined by a few things: Someone claiming authority to judge greatness, comparison to others, and the impression it leaves people. My Grandma made a cherry pie for me with the pits still in it and my grandfather thought it tasted great. But then again he only knew pies with pits…I choked on them.

So greatness is relative. Everybody is great at something. We are bound to be better than the typical and norm. I once had a kid in youth group that was great at catching spit in the air. No one was better. So if you are depressed, find something that you are great at to make yourself feel better.

Most depressed people are comparing with others on the wrong thing. Depressed because you’re not good at shooting a ball in a hoop? How are you with eating a box of M&M’s? From heaven’s vantage point both shooting an orange sphere in a metal hoop and eating brown colored chocolates are pretty comparable. So don’t fret. If you can eat a lot of chocolate, more than the average, you are great. So cheer up!

Is there ever an absolute standard of greatness? Is there one person that is simply the greatest? It can’t be Muhammad Ali either, he died and lost once to Joe Frazier. I also saw him at a sports conference and I had him sign an autograph for me, he really wasn’t that great at penmanship…my grandmother was always a stickler for neat handwriting and Muhammad would simply not cut it for my grandmother. Below average more like it.

What if I told you there is an absolute greatest person? The greatest human being ever! When it comes to being human we often forget who we are. The word human comes from the root, humus, of the earth. We are made of dust, clay and ash. Dirt! And often in our daily lives we can’t see past the mud puddles around us.

But there is a person who is also made of the Divine, he is God in human flesh. God is not limited, he has infinite power, wisdom and ability. Can he beat the Golden State Warriors? He made them. The only reason they exist is because he holds them together with the power of his word.

The truth is, God doesn’t need a thing from us. Need means he is lacking. And one thing God is not, is lacking. He doesn’t need your good works, your devotion or even your prayers. He wants you to worship him for your good, he wants to fill your lack. We need to always have this perspective because when we finally understand our need, it will bring us to him. As one man once said, “Hunger is the best cook.”

Here is the strangest part of this whole interchange, “God sure loves this piece of dirt!” The greatest died for the smallest. See, in God’s eyes, you are great after all!