Text:  1 Cor. 13:13, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 

I don't remember which year it was, but I do remember the man.  His name then was Cassius Clay.  He was an up-and-coming heavy-weight boxer in the Olympics.  Then he turned pro.  He then proceeded to go through a metamorphosis which would include change of religion and a name change to go with it. Those who have never hear of Cassius Clay have undoubtedly heard of Mohammed Ali. 

When you say his name, you remember his poetry that would spook his opponents before the fights.  We remember his speed and his fancy footwork in the ring that sooner or later exhausted his opponent and made him a target for a knock-out punch.  Not only do we remember the name Mohammed Ali but we remember that he said he was the greatest.  He made no bones about it.  He was the greatest, he said, and soon everyone began to believe him. 

The years have come and gone, and they have not been kind to the “greatest.”  Mohammed Ali lives not far from Andrews University, which is in Berrien Springs Michigan.  His estate once belonged to Al Capone.  Ali now welcomes visitors.  He likes to show them his slight of hand magic, and he has even been honored by the university. 

One can't help but notice that his speech is somewhat affected, due to Parkinson's Disease.  He was the greatest, but not any more.  Time will do that to you.  Former President Ronald Reagan had Alzheimer's Disease.  He too was at one time one of the greatest--the president of the greatest country in the world. But time is not kind to the “greatest.” 

The Scripture are about priorities.  The Bible doesn't mind a person “going for the gold” as long as it is the gold that is not tarnished by time and is the greatest not only in the short haul but the long haul as well.  The problem is that in this life we tend to take the short view rather than the long view.  It may seem to make more sense to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.  But when tomorrow comes, what we have done and been in the past has a tendency to come back to haunt us. 

The Christian life is a win /win situation, both for the short haul and the long haul.  A person who seeks first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness now and in the future is a guy who knows what true greatness is all about.  His life is not about his past or his future but is about now and all that goes with now. 

Now may mean sickness or it may mean health, it may mean “better” or it may mean “worse.”  But no matter, because we are “...persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Rom. 8:38,39.