Greater Things Than These

"It behooves us, my dear Brothers and Sisters, to have a firmer faith than Old Testament saints because we see more clearly our ground of trust. Those who lived in the comparative darkness of the previous dispensation were saved by faith and among them there were not a few eminent Believers--surely we, also, ought to excel in our confidence in God! Let the 11th chapter of Hebrews stand as a triumphal arch with the names of ancient Believers recorded--these all died in faith and they were no mean men--but inasmuch as we enjoy a brighter light and are living under a better economy, we are called upon to be their superiors in faith! Our faith should be clearer, calmer, stronger, more effectual in working--we should do greater things than these, in the name of Jesus." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Did I mention I love this guy?)

So let's see...that would be: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, just to name a few. Kind of a weighty list there. But Jesus actually says something in John 14 that sounds way crazier than Spurgeon's claim:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." (14:12)

Now, obviously none of us are going to go out and justify all those who place their faith in Christ. But I think those words probably need to shock us more than they do. And hopefully they will prove effective in helping to move us to action. For if we are called to greater things than what Jesus did on earth, it will only happen when we get off our lazy butts and out into the world, to be a part of the establishment of the Kingdom that is already and not yet come. But I'm preaching to myself here too, because I'm at least as guilty of not being in the world, if not more so, than the rest of you. So let us "work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13).