Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

Excel Still More

On June 17, 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere. Miss Liberty’s sculptor was the noted Frenchman, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. Together with his crew, Bartholdi created a masterpiece of excellence. The intricacies of this statute are incredible. One intriguing aspect of this commitment to excellence can be found atop her head. The detail given to this section of the statue makes you think the sculptor planned for the whole world to gaze down at Lady Liberty’s head frequently. The fact is, once she was raised to her full height of more than 151 feet, only the seagulls could appreciate the artist’s propensity for excellence. Bartholdi didn’t think anyone would notice his work up top, but he still wanted every inch to be finished with the best he had to offer. Good thing, because in 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright created a new avenue for the world to examine Bartholdi’s work. Excellence starts when we’re committed to doing our best, whether anyone else ever notices. Besides, somebody like Orville or Wilbur may come along and make sure the whole world takes notice of your work. (Charles Swindoll)

God always wants the best for His creation. Worship is centered around offering the best. When God established the Passover Feast, He wanted the best to be offered. The lamb was to be without blemish, a male of the first year. The law also stated that it was an abomination to the Lord to offer a bull or a sheep that had any blemish or defect. At the end of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi declared the people of God had polluted their offerings by presenting before the Lord defiled food, and blind animals that were lame and sick. They would never offer such things to their leaders, but they would offer profane worship to the Lord.

Worship is offering to the Lord the best a man has without the fanfare of the world taking notice. No one will notice the work of the quiet disciple of the Lord serving his Savior and King, but the Lord sees. God knows and sees the hearts of all men. What matters is not what men see standing on the ground, but what the Lord looks upon from above. The view from the eternal is what measures the worth of a man. His character is built upon the excellence that every part of his life is important to the Lord. What God sees is what matters. The view from above shows the true excellence of a heart sculptured by someone seeking to live pure and holy before God.

Building a 151-foot-tall statue required attention to detail throughout the project. Living a godly life requires attention to details that matter to the One who looks down from above. God knows everything in the lives of His children. The world may frown and disapprove, but they cannot see the beauty that encases the image from above. God wants His children to excel in their lives so the world can see His beauty. When a Christian seeks to live above the world, he shows the glory of God to a lost and dark world. Nothing is hidden from the view of God, but the Lord desires His people to reflect His image, no matter where the world views them. Attention to detail can bring a lost soul to Christ. The whole character of the Christian excels in all they do to please God.