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I recently read a short article on the subject of "excellence." The writer states, "In every time and realm there are those who stand apart from the crowd. Those whose manner and very presence exude excellence, honor and influence." In a world, which is progressively lowering the bar where excellence and integrity are concerned, real examples are becoming increasingly scarce. Whenever an individual, church, or nation turns from superior performance, its days of glory begin to fade.

GOD CARES ABOUT EXCELLENCE 

God's name is excellent (Ps. 8:1) 
God's loving-kindness is excellent (Ps.36:7) God's salvation is excellent (Is. 12:1-5) 
God's work is excellent (Deut. 32:1-4) 
God's way is excellent (2 Sam. 22:31) 
God's will is excellent (Rom. 12:2)

We are admonished to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1-2). We are given a "Pattern" by which to mold our lives and by which to make it possible to see God in and through our lifestyle (ROM. 8:29). Our excellence reflects the character and nature of God Himself!

THE WORLD'S VIEW OF EXCELLENCE

Much of our generation demonstrates evidence of being committed to mediocrity. Regrettably we have allowed our standards to become degraded. We have opinions, but our standards are not backed by consistent action ... demanding excellence. Oh, yes! We want the goods we buy to be excellent. We want the service we are expecting to receive to be excellent. BUT ... unless it absolutely impacts our lives, we settle for less. In some areas of society excellence is ridiculed.

In fact, we can cut against the grain when we pursue moral and spiritual excellence and maintain a high expectancy in the performance of others. 

Yet all the while we are told to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received" (Eph. 4:1). Each of us has been given the goal to be Christ-like, to reflect Christian excellence for God's glory. 

A MODERN DAY PARABLE

The pastor stood in the water, ready to perform the sacrament of baptism. Pete, the young man about to be baptized, loudly proclaimed his testimony to the watching crowd. Pete originally had no interest in Christianity ... none at all. Then his job put him into close company with a couple of guys who clearly had already committed their lives to the cause of Christ. But, Pete's disinterest was completely impenetrable, or so he thought. After all, this God stuff wasn't his cup of tea. But Gus and Mike lived out the truth of God's Word. They spoke up on occasion, of course, but mostly they lived. They exhibited caring attitudes toward Pete; they opted for a friendship evangelism; they lived, and lived, and lived, and lived. They prayed too. Soon the Spirit of God began breaking into Greg's shell. The faithfulness of Gus and Mike who lived the Word of God day after day convinced him that it was real. And now Pete was coming up out of the water raising a shout, "Praise God!" Gus and Mike allowed the excellence of God to "live" through them. The result ... a new member in the family of God!

THAT LITTLE DIFFERENCE

A philosopher of years gone by wrote, "There is very little difference between men, but that little difference makes all the difference in the world." This was penned by Will James. He did not put much stock in the "common man" concept. Great achievements generally result from the efforts of uncommon men, men who will not accept defeat without a battle, men who always keep a new horizon before them, men who reject the "couch-potato" philosophy. These are men who possess a Daniel like quality. We read in the Bible (Dan. 6:3) that Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king "gave thought to setting him over the whole realm." Daniel demanded excellence of himself even when surrounded by adversity and compromise, when it was not convenient or comfortable to do so. Joseph was another example; as was the Apostle Paul, and of course, our Lord Jesus. 

OUR MISSION, SHOULD WE ACCEPT IT

The Bible says that we who are followers of Christ are "a chosen generation, royal priesthood, a holy nation; God's own special people with the mission to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9). God has placed within ordinary people extra-ordinary qualities and power. We have been "delivered" from the limits we have known in the past (Rom. 8:2). We are not to be subject to the same fears, weaknesses, habits and sins of the past. They need not control us anymore. There is a new spirit of excellence welling up in our inner man that can free us from the constraints of the past. WE CAN BE LIKE David, Daniel, Joshua, Joseph, Paul, and Stephen... all men who overcame the pull to mediocrity and excelled for God. And, of course, LIKE JESUS! 

OPEN-TO-THE-PUBLIC-VIEW

God loves to feature genuine open-to-the-public-view Christianity. That is the only worthy kind. Closet Christians are not pleasing to God. We are His children. Jesus tells us that we are to be the "light of the world," and that that light is to shine before men that they see our "good deeds," which will reflect in a wonderful way upon our heavenly Father. Each of us has been given the goal to be Christ-like, to reflect Christian excellence for God. Christians will be judged based on the quality of our lives. We were made to excel, designed to achieve, and reborn to climb higher.

PRIDE IN EXCELLENCE

The C.E.O. of one of America's large corporations founded what he called a "Pride In Excellence" program for his company and his life after he heard a guest speaker ask an audience if they remembered their grandfathers, great-grandfathers and great-great grandfathers. Then he asked them if they thought their grand children would remember them. He thought, "Is my life one worthy of being remembered for anything other than that I merely existed?" 

HOW TALL ARE YOU?

Sam Walters Foss penned the words, "Bring Me Men." It reads:

Bring me men to match my mountains;
Bring men to match my plains;
Men with empires in their purpose,
And new eras in their brains.

Bring me men to match my prairies;
Men to match my inland seas;
Men whose thoughts shall pave a highway,
Up to ampler destinies;

Pioneers to clear Thought's marshlands
And to cleanse old Error's fen;
Bring me men to match my mountains.
Bring me men! Bring me men!

Christ is calling for those who will stand in the gap as men and women of excellence and not waiver when the storm comes.