Greater Than

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.John 14:12

Have you seen this symbol lately? What does it represent?

In math, > means greater than, as in 3 > 2; on Twitter, it also serves the same function, only we (read: me) use it to compare absurdities to poor effort or something we do not like. During the NFL preseason, I sent out a tweet that looked like this: Gumby > Michael Vick. It wasn't in malice toward Mr. Vick whom I think has made an amazing comeback from prison to success, but at that particular moment, the oft-injured quarterback was hurt again in action. By comparing Gumby to him, I insinuated that a green clay figure was stronger than the man since Gumby could change shapes and recover quickly from his situations. 

Greater - the life-altering understanding that God is ready to accomplish a kind of greatness in your life that is entirely out of reach. 

Beyond Steve Jobs. He is the genius behind Apple and made technology cool.

Beyond Ralph Gilles. He designed the 2006 Chrysler 300.

Beyond Barack Obama. He's the first African-American President of the United States.

Beyond Sam Walton. He's the retailing icon who founded Wal-Mart and revolutionized retail.

Beyond Oprah Winfrey. She needs no introduction.

Beyond what you see in yourself on your best day.

But exactly what God has seen in you all along. 

How do you know this? Jesus says that if you truly believe in Him, you'll emulate Him. Now that He has returned to the Father, you'll do bigger and better things as a result of your following Him. How often do you see a small child following his father everywhere? I see it with my brother and nephew, and sometimes it's just funny. When Alan walks to the car, Aston is tailing along as if he could miss something. This is the same relationship we should aim for - one day, Aston is going to walk without his daddy holding his hand or even better, pull up his own recliner to watch the Cowboys play on Sundays, sippy cup in tow. 

Are we doing the things that are good enough for ourselves, or are we striving to be greater than? Greater than what we were yesterday, last week, five years ago, or even two minutes ago? Greater than the best times we've ever had? Greater than the best porterhouse steak you've ever eaten? Greater than anything we could ever be on our own? Living just to be good enough shouldn't be our goal, as that can lead to a life of mediocrity; or worse, one of regrets. Don't live to be good enough. Be greater than!