Luke 10:23
And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
Jesus was not shy to remind the disciples that they were a part of something great and that they should not take what they saw for granted. He said, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. Jesus told the disciples that many desired to see what they saw and never saw it, and yet they were part of history being made. I am not sure that Jesus’ admonition to the disciples was quite understood at the time, but when He ascended to Heaven, I know they understood what He said to them about enjoying the rarity of Greatness.
I have had the opportunity in my lifetime not only to enjoy seeing greatness, but I have been a part of something great that happened. One of those opportunities I had was to be a part of the ministry of Dr. Jack Hyles. Bro. Hyles pastored the largest independent Baptist church in the world. His Sunday school averaged 15,000 every Sunday. We had a few times on big days when we saw over three thousand saved and baptized. Though some try to minimize what happened on those days, I look back with great memories and thankfulness that I got to enjoy being a part of something great.
Please forgive me for this next statement; but I believe I am now a part of something great. I am not talking about myself at all, but I am talking about the church I get to pastor. Our church is a growing church. A recent poll said the average church attendance after COVID is 45% down. At the writing of this devotional, our church has had a 68% increase of our pre-COVID attendance. When many churches are closing down or shutting down their larger auditoriums, our church is building a new auditorium that doubles the size we have right now. I feel blessed to be a part of what God is doing, but I don't feel like my church is the only church that is seeing greatness. My friend, when you are see God’s blessings firsthand, there are two things I want to remind you about.
First, never take it for granted that God is allowing you to see it. Many took for granted Jesus’ presence in their day, only to regret it once He was gone. When you are seeing greatness firsthand, you better soak up every minute of it while you have it. You never know what will happen that can stop it. Nobody predicted COVID, but it happened. Many churches that were growing before COVID are now dying. While you are part of a growing church or seeing people saved and baptized weekly, enjoy every minute of it because you only have a short time to enjoy greatness.
Second, you have a few opportunities in life to be a part of something great, and when that opportunity comes, you had better become a part of it. Not only should you enjoy seeing every part of greatness, but you will one day wish you were a part of it. Many only eat the crumbs of the greatness they see, but you should be sitting at the table because you are a part of it. Don’t watch everyone else produce at your church, but be a part of the producers at your church. You can help the greatness of your church continue if you are an active part of bringing people to church weekly. You don’t want greatness to pass and wish you would have enjoyed it more or been a greater part of it.
The rarity of greatness only comes once or twice in a lifetime. It won’t always be there. Enjoy it and be a part of it so you can say when it is gone, "I was a part of it."
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