What Is “A Great Day” To You?

Dear Muslim & Christian Friends,

I was thinking about the words we sometimes say to each other, “Have a great day!” But what does that mean? What does it mean to have “a great day”?

When I was young, I measured “a great day” by how much fun I had. A great day meant a day of enjoyment, pleasure, and fulfillment.

When I was in high school and college and in my early adult years, I measured “a great day” by how much success I had. A great day meant achievement – and being recognized by others for it.

When I got older, I measured “a great day” by how much work I got done. A great day meant getting a vast number of things done related to my work.

How do I measure “a great day” now? I think it is changing. I think my values are slowly becoming a little more like the values of God.

At the end of the day now, when I look back, I don’t measure the greatness of the day by how much fun I had. Or how much success and recognition I gained. Or even necessarily how much work I got done.

I have a new measurement of “great” and it comes from the words of Isa – Jesus (the Injeel, Mark 10:43):

There’s nothing wrong with having some fun in life or being successful or getting a lot of work done. But when I think of those things, I have to be honest. All of them are focused on. . .me.

God wants us to focus on others – their well being. Jesus not only taught this, he exemplified it in everything he did. Jesus was the epitome of greatness and this was how he described his lifestyle and mission:

I am learning that “a great day” does have a metric – a standard of measurement – but it is not the selfish, me-centered metric that people in this world often use. No, “a great day” is a day of serving others. This is the metric of greatness that Jesus taught and lived. This new way of thinking helps me to ask these questions as I lay down my head at night:

How many people did I serve today?
How many people did I help today?
How many people did I encourage today?
How many people did I put before myself today?
How did I give and sacrifice and authentically love today?

It’s definitely a different definition of what is “great.”

God bless you, my dear Muslim and Christian friends.

And I hope that you truly have. . .“a great day”!