Building a life of greatness

Hidden in the story of King David we find a powerful description of the road to greatness. It is probably common to all human beings to aspire to greatness. Deep in our human existence is a desire that seeks to propel us to greatness. It is very unfortunate that many misunderstand this desire and therefore get derailed as life proceeds. Since we live in a world of good and evil, some get caught in questionable pursuits for material riches, no matter what methods are to be used.

But greatness is not the same as being rich in material possessions or being famous. Greatness that is found as a seed in all of us is meant to lead us to an inner strength and excel in life and be a force for good in our world.

Greatness is diametrically opposed to selfishness. A good definition of greatness we find in the life of Christ. If we consider His life, we can see an example of who and how we all should be. He is the Son of man, the prototype of a person after whom we should all be fashioned.
The Bible calls Him the second Adam (Adam simply means man), because the first Adam who should have been our example and prototype failed in his mission to give us accurate direction for our lives. Therefore God sent a second Adam who gave us an accurate representation of the greatness that God yearns for all of us to achieve.

Let me take you back to the life of David, whom God once described as a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22). In a very short description in 2 Samuel 5:7,9,10 we discover the road to greatness that we can all travel.
“David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David. .. So David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.”
This passage of scripture reveals our way to greatness.

When David became King he could not rule the whole of Israel. The country was divided and therefore he was crowned King of Judah in Hebron where he reigned for seven and a half years. Thereafter David and his men went to Jerusalem, also called Zion where they conquered the Jebusites and took possession of Zion, which became known as the holy place of God. From then onward David lived in the stronghold of Zion and called it the City of David. Zion is a picture of fellowship with God. He expelled the enemy from this defiled place that then could become a sacred place from which he now ruled in fellowship with his God.

Then David built all around Millo, which was a Defence terrace and from there he built inward. This is a powerful reference of David building his house, more specifically his family and his nation. The word built is the world Ban-nah in Hebrew, pointing to family. Ban comes from the word Ben meaning Son. So David built inward, making his nation and his family strong. In future the descendants of David would be called the House of David.

Then the Bible testifies that David became greater and greater. But this could only happen because the Lord God of Hosts was with him (Verse 10).
There is so much truth in these few words.
In Hebrew it says because “Jehovah Elohim” was with him. These are two words both used for God. We should know that “Elohim” is plural. In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! Here we have the same names for God Jehovah and Elohim. The Lord is described as one, but the word used here is not a numerical one, but rather the word for united one.

This points to the fact that David had a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This explains the reason for David’s greatness and influence. It is for this reason that God called him a man after His own heart.

The God of the trinity is also the God of hosts, referring to all creatures God created in the invisible world of God. Jesus on the cross told us that He could command legions of Angels to come to his rescue. But He did not do this, because we required salvation which could only materialise through His death.

Therefore greatness in our life comes from our living in Zion, in the presence of our God. Greatness requires fellowship in our house as we build a strong family. Greatness is the result of our closest relationship with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Then He will not only be the God of Hosts (Army) in the heavenlies, but He will be our guide and our commander in our daily life as well. This will bring us to the fulfilment of the deepest desire inside of our hearts:
A LIFE OF TRUE GREATNESS.

May we all follow the example of David into a life of true greatness.
Let us increase in greatness!