There once was a king who wanted to make his name great among his people, so he built a grand castle with ornate spires shooting into the sky to grace his world-renowned city. The result was just what he wanted. Men worshiped him and came from near and far to see his castle and his kingdom.
Time passed and the first king died and a second king took his place. The second king wanted to make his name great as well, but he desired to build something more grand and amazing than his predecessor. So he added onto what the first king had made and erected his new addition right next to the first king’s construction to grace the kingdom.
Unfortunately, the second king did not have enough money to make his structure bigger, so he made it look bigger by using an optical illusion. In the same way that an artist makes an object look farther away by drawing it smaller and higher on a page, the king built the windows smaller as they went higher into the sky. As a result, the building appeared to be taller next to the first king’s construction, while in reality, it was shorter.
A lot of people in the world will go to any measure to build their own kingdom, instead of building Christ’s. They will do anything to draw attention to themselves and make their name great because they think that this is going to bring them fulfillment.
However, if you want to experience the highest level of fulfillment, you must first know the God who made you. You must also make it your goal to make Him famous, which means you glorify Him.
To glorify Him means that you put the spotlight on Him and you leverage everything you can in your life to lift Him up so others can see Him. You maximize all that you have been given to show and tell others about Him. You use your money, skills, talents, and passions. You use everything that you are. If you make this your goal, you will experience a deep joy that cannot in any way come from selfishly serving yourself and building your own kingdom.
Unfortunately, our self-centered American culture has taught us that the ultimate goal is to make ourselves happy. Some people have bought into the “I-have-to-be-happy” lie—and believe that the main message of Christianity is all about them, when it’s really all about God.
What about you? Will you make Christ famous and build His kingdom?
