June2015_Faith & Living

Although only a relatively small number of people go searching for fame, nearly everyone has in their heart a desire for their life to have some sense of significance.  That their life count for something rather than just seem meaningless. 

Recently, our news headlines were dominated by the story of a young German pilot who deliberately crashed a passenger airliner into the French Alps killing all on-board.  He was obviously battling mental illness, but people close to him told media that he was a person who wanted the world to remember his name.  In fact, probably most of us have already forgotten his name, but not his final deed.  But what a terrible way to end your life on earth.  Yes, he achieved significance, but he also achieved infamy and brought horrible pain to probably thousands of people who lost loved ones, friends and work colleagues. 

 

God has designed us to desire significance, to be a person of influence.  But it’s not how we would often think of it.  The significance that God designs doesn’t require that we be famous, rich, notorious or even talented.  It doesn’t require us to be good at sport, public speaking, politics or anything in particular really. 

When I first started reading the account of the life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament Gospels, I was perplexed about how he often told the people who he’d just healed or done some mighty work for, to not tell anyone about it!  “See to it that you tell no man,” was a phrase he’d often use.  I’d think to myself, ‘for someone who has a message to get out around the whole world, he sure has a funny way of going about it.  Telling everyone to be quite about miraculous things.’  But I’ve come to understand that God’s ways are not like our ways, nor his values like many of our values.  I’ve come to understand that what we often perceive as being significant, God doesn’t necessarily think so… and what we often think as something insignificant, He describes as significant. 

The Bible mentions the things that God hates. “Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion; eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a mouth that lies under oath, a person who stirs up trouble in the community.” – Proverbs 6:16. 

It also mentions the things that God values in a person; using an honest measure, a meek and quiet spirit, mercy, being non-judgmental, faith, courage, humility, loyalty, love, sincerity, an uncritical spirit. 

In our quest for significance, we can either choose to achieve it in the sight of men or in the sight of God.  The one is temporal significance and the other eternal.  

Gary Levens is Pastor of Dayboro Church.