Giants in the Earth

All my life I've heard people referred to as spiritual giants. I always thought of spiritual giants as people of great faith, people who had overcome their struggles with sin and temptation and who walk close with God.

Then, this week, a friend said she considered me a spiritual giant. Scre-e-e-e-ech! What? I know myself and I know that I don't fit the spiritual giant mold. I still struggle with the same stupid sins that have bothered me since I can remember. I have my moments of closeness with God and then I push him away and ignore him.

It seems that "having it all together" is in the eye of the beholder. I can put up a perfect Christian facade and then live, in my heart, however I please.

Hebrews 11 lists members of the Giants Hall of Fame.

• Noah-- who wasn't afraid to be a fool in order to prepare for a disaster he had no proof of-- was also a fool when he lay drunk and naked in his tent
• Abraham-- who is known for obeying without question-- also tried to work things out to his advantage by lying, conniving, and making his own plans for how God could fulfill his promises.
• Moses-- who led God's people out of slavery, did so reluctantly and only after a long and futile argument.

My only hope is that God measures me not on what I have done or can accomplish, but on who I am in Him. I know I'll never arrive, but I want to keep my eyes on the cross and take steps toward it my whole life. And, while I know there are those who have lived lives of great faith, I want to see them only as arrows pointing to Jesus, not as objects of worship themselves.