This is the longest word so far. God seems to be handing me words, like gifts, and asking me to unwrap them! When He first revealed this word to my heart, I was unsure about what He would have me write. After all, I could only think of a couple of verses containing this word. Probably the very reason He asked me to search it out, I quickly realized I was very wrong! In fact, when I Googled it, the first verse that instantly popped into my mind wasn’t even in the list of “86 verses about excellence,” or if it was, it was way down the list, and I didn’t get that far!
God soon showed me that He had much to say about His excellence and His call to our excellence!
As has become my practice in these “word searches,” I first looked up the dictionary definition. To “excel” means to do something exceptionally well. “Excellent” means extremely good; stands out, in comparison to others. “Excellence” is the quality of being outstanding. Yep…sounds pretty Biblical to me! Didn’t God tell us that we are to be set apart for Him? Genesis makes it quite clear that God created us, the human race, in His image, and nobody is more excellent than God! 1 Peter 2:9 says we are to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus. It also says we are a chosen (read “set apart, outstanding”) generation!
When we find ourselves stuck in the human ruts of comparison, apathy, status quo living, and “I’m nothing special” thinking, we need to be reminded what God says about us and how He created us to walk in Him! My search led me multiple times to Daniel. The book of Daniel says that Daniel had understanding, knowledge, excellent wisdom, and an excellent spirit. We know that Daniel was a godly man and had favor with God…and the Bible labels him as “excellent” at least 3 times, in 2 chapters! We would do well to keep his devotion and living practices in mind as we live out our faith, today!
Let’s look at the nuts and bolts, nitty gritty details of God’s call to excellence in our lives. He addresses multiple areas of our lives and challenges us to be excellent.
Romans 16:19 (the very first verse I thought of with this word), Be excellent at what is good. Be innocent of evil. 2 Thes. 3:13 says to never tire of doing good. 1 Cor. 10:31 tells us to do everything to the glory of God! Colossians 3:23 tells us that, whatever we do, we should work at it with all our hearts, as working for the Lord. Titus 2:7 challenges us to set an example by doing good works of every kind. So…we are to be excellent at what we do.
Romans 12:2 tells us to renew our minds so that we can do God’s will. Proverbs 4:23 says to guard our hearts, above all, for everything we do flows from it. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that we will be what we think. Philipians 4:8 tells us to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. “If there is any excellence; if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” So, we must be excellent in what we think.
Proverbs 21:23 says that he who guards his tongue, guards his heart from trouble. Proverbs 10:19 says that he who holds his tongue has wisdom. Proverbs 17:27 explains that a man of few words is truly wise, and a man with an even temper is a man of understanding. So, we must be excellent in what we say…and in what we don’t say!
I found a couple of verses that beautifully sum up God’s calls to excellence in our lives! 2 Corinthians 8:7 offers the church at Corinth as an example of how to live a life that excels in faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness, and love. In 1 Timothy 6:11, Timothy is told to “Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” He is also cautioned to “fight the good fight.” This implies that it won’t be easy…fights are never easy!
In case all these commands about excellence are overwhelming you, let me ease your mind. God didn’t give us these commands and then boot us off by ourselves to live them out. He equipped us mightily! 2 Peter 1:3 promises “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.”
Jesus, thank you for being the perfect example of excellence, of being set apart to accomplish God’s purposes in our own lives. Thank you for setting us apart for your purposes. Thank you for your Word which so completely explains how you created us to live our lives for you. Open our minds and hearts to more revelation of how you desire us to live for you and to ways in which we need a little extra help from you. Help us to seek your face every day! Help us, Lord, to honor you by striving for excellence in all that we do, think, and speak, every day of our lives. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!