The greatness of God is something that (at least in my circles) we speak of regularly. He is omniscient. He is sovereign. He is all-powerful. Typically, we associate the greatness of God with His attributes. Contemplation on the greatness of God is important and should be done regularly. However, we are often inclined to think about God very little and to think very little of God.
Our consideration of the greatness of God can sometimes be similar to our consideration of the greatness of a black hole. It’s “out there” somewhere. It’s powerful. It’s huge. It even eats light! But its greatness is largely irrelevant to us. Whatever impact it has on us is largely unknown and unfelt. We’re unconcerned with it.
This is not the same way that God is great.
God’s greatness is, of course, wrapped up with His attributes. But His greatness is also in His significance. God’s greatness is more like gravity than a black hole. It’s everywhere. It impacts everything. We can ignore it (and we often do), but we do so to our detriment.
God’s significance is what protects us from functional atheism. Functional atheism acknowledges God’s general existence (and greatness) but lives as though God is irrelevant. It is unconcerned with God when making an Amazon purchase, selecting which movie to watch, determining what time to set the alarm, or deciding where to attend church. Functional atheism knows God exists “out there” but assumes He’s not applicable to the way we manage our money, drink our orange juice, or even preach our sermons.
God is the most significant reality. He matters more than all things. Apart from him nothing has meaning. Therefore, our God-centeredness is critical if we’re to view the world, ourselves, and all things rightly. All other significance is a derived significance.