WHAT MAKES MEN GREAT
GUY LAND

God does not look upon greatness as men do. We have one idea of greatness when we see the lives of the rich, the imminent educators, the important writers, the famous generals, kings and presidents. One gets a different view when he looks into the lives of the great men of the Bible.

Even in the church men are tempted to be great by worldly standards and become something like spiritual sputniks. They want to be high and lofty rather than lowly in heart. Simple trusting faith is rare, but in the Bible it is a mark of greatness.

The faith we read of in Hebrews 11 has a certainty about it that explains why the heroes listed there are among the truly great. They had a faith so strong that it was absolute certainty. They show us that the faith of a child of God should be so real and so vital that it goes beyond mere hope. There is certainty about it.

They were great because they had a faith that influenced everything they did and dominated all their actions. A mark of greatness is for one to believe in God in the face of all that the world does to corrupt faith. The world offers ease, prosperity and popularity, while faith in God may lead to hardship and persecution. It is the right choice here that makes one great before God. The Christian is to believe that it is better to suffer with God than to enjoy the pleasures of the world for a season.

The three Hebrews in Daniel show us what greatness is when they chose the fiery furnace rather than the rewards of a rich king. John Bunyan illustrated greatness when he said: “With God’s comfort in my poor soul, before I went down to the justices, I begged of God that if I might do more good by being at liberty than in prison, that then I might be set at liberty. But if not, His will be done.”

A man is great before God when he truly believes that he can never lose by being faithful to God. The world has its rewards, and they are alluring; but the great soul never doubts but what final victory is in God and His word.

The great men of God are those who have gained victory of the senses through the Spirit. The senses say play it smart and get what you can out of life. The senses lay stress upon what can be touched, tasted and handled for the moment. But the Spirit goes beyond sensation, pointing to things eternal.

It was Epicurus who gave the world the philosophy of pleasure as the purpose of life. But even he understood the difference between higher and lower pleasures, and he was not advocating the momentary pleasures of the senses but the elevating pleasures of the soul. He took the long view, for he realized that an intense, momentary pleasure might in the end bring pain. He also understood that the higher disciplines of the mind may be difficult and even painful, but in the end they will bring beauty and peace to the soul.

It is also a respect and devotion for truth that makes men great. He believes that “great is truth and in the end she will prevail.” Socrates was great because he believed in the endurance of truth. Wrong sometimes appears the victor over truth. It was so with Socrates who was wrongly executed by the Athenians, and it was so of Christ who was wrongly crucified by Pilate and the Jews. In these instances and many more history has proved that truth, crushed to earth, will rise again.

Fosdick somewhere observes that while Nero once condemned Paul, it was only a matter of time until men named their sons after Paul and called their dogs Nero.

It is so easy to be worldly in attitude and to yield to the allurements of modern society with all its pleasure, fame, and fortune—and the safety that such an escape from reality allows. The rewards for Christian endurance seem so remote and so far away and even uncertain. But it is here that God sees “great faith” in those that see the future as certain. The future is indeed God’s and those who truly trust His word. If God has promised or if He has commanded that is enough. The future is assured.

The great heroes of the Bible, such as are described in Hebrews 11, were assured that God would do what He said He would do. They were attested and approved—yes, they were great—because they believed God. It is that simple.

To be great before God one may have to reject the greatness that the world gives. He may have to sacrifice the socalled “great career” and refuse the safety of the crowd. He may not be able to make the safe decisions that assure one of the approval of man, but he makes the one decision that bears the approval of God.

It is faith that conquers kingdoms and stops the mouths of lions. Those who have such faith are the truly great of the earth.—321 Melody Lane, Duncanville, Texas.