Life with Significance
Every life has significance. From the Chilean boy living in squalor to the billionaire cruising in his yacht, we were all paid for by the same blood. Christ died for all. We cannot earn more significance by “being good” or refraining from evil, but we certainly can honor God by following his commandments. And what is this command? That we love one another. God spells this out in his Word:
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
(I John 3:16-18)
Care mother and toddler orphan
We often forget that the love that was given for us was an action – not a feeling or emotion. So often the most significant things in life are the ones that no one would know if we never did them. It is the unexpected phone call, the anonymous gift, the unpaid job and the quality time. We live in a world that constantly asks, “what is the requirement.” We should be asking “how can I do more?” How often do we give to the point of sacrifice instead of making sure we live with a “balanced approach”?
The church in America settles for so little. We are so desperate to be inclusive that we forget to challenge. Are our lives to be so comfortable? God has certainly blessed this nation with vast wealth, of which the American church certainly shares, but have we ever asked ourselves why? Why did God bless us with these riches? You could have just as easily been born into the slums of India – Why here? Why now? Ask yourselves these questions. Those of you reading this post are more than likely wealthy by world’s standards. The people working at the Countryside Orphanage earn the equivalent of sixty cents a day. For us, it’s the cost of a snickers bar – for them, a day’s wages.
Need stares at us from every corner of the globe, and right here at home. Where there is great need, there is great opportunity. You and I have the chance to make a significant impact in the life of another person. This is not about changing society so that we won’t have inequity, it is about transforming ourselves to carry on the work of the kingdom. Jesus himself said, “the poor will always be with you.” Yet we are so intent on creating a society so perfect we don’t have to be good. I believe that we are confronted with these issues to give us a chance to do something significant for the kingdom.
Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now. -SAINT TERESA OF AVILA
Do you feel like Christ’s hands? Do you have his eyes? You can. God has put the opportunity before us to act with significance. Get involved in the kingdom. See through his eyes, be his hands and go to those to whom he went. It makes a significant difference. I have been blessed in innumerable ways by my involvement with the Two Pennies, and it has already been the challenge of my life. I hope that you would prayerfully consider joining me in significantly changing our world for Him.