“Who’s the GOAT?”  

It’s the thing today to proclaim the “greatest of all time”…..  oh it’s  Michael Jordon, it’s Tom Brady, what about the Babe—Babe Ruth.  I have to say in the category of the “greatest players of music on teeth”, my name has been mentioned; yet in all humility, I have to defer to my St. Louis colleague Rick Floyd. Rick had a range and tone  and fullness in his music that I just couldn’t touch. 

Even in the spiritual realm, you hear debates on who the greatest apostle was, or the greatest prophet, even the greatest sinner.  “Well I believe that Elijah was the greatest prophet…..no, no, no, Isaiah was the greatest…….wow, woe, woe, get serious, John the Baptist was numero uno.”  It’s clear that Paul was the greatest apostle…. puuuleese, what about Peter?”  Yikes.

In truth, the scripture is filled with amazing men and women of holiness. At times, they were all great. Isaiah was certainly incredible, especially in his prediction of the coming of the Messiah, who would redeem His people from their sins. 

 I love the words he spoke of himself: “The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear.” ( Isaiah 50:4)  What a wonderful passage…certainly true for this great prophet; yet, this passage could and should be applied to all of us.  Clearly when we pray in the morning, we should hear directions and encouragements from the Lord. And with these Godly words, we should be in a position to speak a word to the weary and to rouse them…to get them going. Some days I may speak a word to the weary and other days those words are spoken by you to me who am weary. We need to be Isaiah to each other over time. 

Some days may you be the “GOAT of the Lord”  in helping me; other days I pray to be the GOAT for you. Back and forth may we all have our great days in loving God and loving each other. And when the Lord looks at us, may he pronounce us all great in his service. May one day we all hear those magnificent words, “well done good and faithful servants…. enter into the joy of your master”. (Mt. 25:23) 

In the final analysis, there is only one GOAT and he is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God who died on the cross for our sins and rose again. In his greatness he allows us to play a part in bringing his mercy and love to this troubled world, to be great in his service….. and that is very good news.