Not just in the future, but right now? What if the reason we thought they were great, was because God thought they were great.
Does God think you're great?
Does He think the orphan in India is great?
I think He does. I think, that He knows your great... Why?
He created you and He doesn't create bad thing's.
Yes you may have done bad things. You may have missed opportunities, you may have blown chances. But I think that God still thinks that you are great, because if He is still willing to have Jesus die for you, then He must think pretty highly of you, right?
I also ask what qualifies us to be great? Is it wisdom, is it courage, is it charisma, strength, beauty, intelligence, or humility? I think that it's faith in God. Those who did great things for God did them because they believed. Not only that, but we are saved through belief, not through works, possessions, looks, smarts or background. If we can believe, then we can be saved.
So back to the start, if we actually believed that people were great, how we we respond to them? How would we treat them?
If Billy Graham came on your staff, or became your friend, would you refuse to hear all his crazy ideas about revival and evangelism? I doubt it. I think you would lap it up. That's what any sensible person would do, because we know that he is great.
I will also wager that he had a lot of these ideas before he was famous. Would we have listen to the young man Billy Graham? What if that kid at youth, that boy at the playground was not just great in the future, but had something to offer now, because God is with Him, has a plan for him and speaks to Him. It may need tweaking, or support to see it work, but what if he isn't wrong? What if I don't know it all?
How would this change the way that we look at people? The way that we treat people?
I have many ideas, but this is all I wanted to pose today, maybe another time we can look at this more.
Grace and peace.
Daniel