Live Large: An Exerpt
If you or someone you know struggles with the feeling that their life is not important, then my book, Live Large: You can Live A Life of Eternal Significance, is exactly what is needed. Below is an exerpt from the first chapter. This book has helped a number of people understand their role in God’s plan, and has greatly inspired and uplifted those who have read it.
It’s in there, struggling to get out. You can feel it. Something extraordinary. In your heart, you know you were destined to do something great, but you can’t seem to put your finger on it. Under the surface of your ordinary appearance, you sense the presence of something big. It’s as if you are a superhero, and you’ve been living your whole life up to this point under your cover identity; like a Clark Kent who has yet to unveil his Superman alter-ego. And you’re not wrong in feeling that way.
Regardless of who you are, you are right in the assumption that you were designed for greatness. After all, as a born-again child of God, you are made in His image. And there is no one greater than the Most High! It’s no wonder that you sense greatness on the inside of you, that you have the desire to live a life that will create a legacy. Most of us have heard the phrase “living large,” and that’s what we long for. We want to live a life that is larger than ourselves. We desire to leave a legacy that means something. We want our lives to have eternal value and significance.
We all want to leave our mark. We want our lives to count for something. We desire to leave this life having given everything for the cause of Christ. As the saying goes in sports circles, we want to “leave it all on the field.” In other words, at the end of it all, we want to say that we used up everything God gave us to use; all our talents, abilities, skill, connections, resources, knowledge, energy. When it ends, we want to be able to say that we held nothing back. We want to deserve the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Moses was much the same. Born in Egypt to humble Hebrew slaves, he was miraculously spared from death by Pharaoh’s daughter and grew up enjoying a life of privilege as a member of Pharaoh’s household. He had the best of everything. He was not required to perform the back-breaking manual labor of his countrymen, and lived what most of us would call “the good life.” But something in Moses’ heart told him there was more to his life than that; that he was called to do something great for his people, the Israelites. Unfortunately, Moses tried to fulfill the plan of God in his own way, with his own strength, and as a result, he ended up a fugitive tending sheep on the backside of the desert for 40 years. The problem was that Moses’ idea of the great thing he was supposed to do, and God’s idea, were two different things. Moses did not consider that God’s ways are not the same as man’s ways, and often we do the same thing. Only once he matured and gained a better understanding of what it meant to do God’s work, did Moses really begin to grasp the large life God had for him.
Saul of Tarsus was a man who desired to do great things for God. As a Pharisee, he wholeheartedly fulfilled his role as a religious leader of his time, personally hunting down those who had left the Jewish faith. A desire to serve God with his whole being motivated him to persecute the early Christian church. Saul, who later became known as the Apostle Paul after his conversion, felt he understood greatness and was compelled to become a premier Pharisee. He was not satisfied with being a good Pharisee, but was ambitious and was determined to make a name for himself. We know this by the way he described himself.
Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:4-6
With such a resume, he was well on his way to a spot in the Pharisee Hall of Fame! His passion for greatness had earned him inclusion in Jerusalem’s most elite circles, even giving him what might be considered celebrity status. He knew he had greatness inside, but his misdirected zeal led him to use his abilities to come against God rather than serve Him. This fiery Pharisee had no idea of the true ways of God or what God would really require of him.
The Bible is full of people who did great things for God. Most of them were not people who set out to make a name for themselves, but who, through acts of obedience to God, have been immortalized in scripture. They were ordinary individuals like Esther, Samuel, Abraham, Elijah, Noah, Joshua, and John the Baptist, just to name a few. They were simple people who were not so very different from you and me.
No matter who you are, God has a great plan for your life. He has an important assignment for you to accomplish in the earth. You may feel like you can’t do anything big for God, but you are so wrong, my friend. You look at yourself, and all you see are inabilities and limitations. I have news for you; everyone has them. Don’t look on your limitations as obstacles, but as opportunities for God to show Himself strong on your behalf.
To purchase this book, go to our SHOP page and order it (through Amazon). God has spoken clearly through its pages and has used it to give hope and encouragement. I know it will be a blessing to anyone who reads it.
