DOES YOUR LIFE MATTER?

Did you know that one of the greatest drives among human beings is a drive for significance?  We have been hardwired by God to make a difference or leave an impression.  We want to know our life on the earth mattered to somebody.  Look through the pages of your Bible and see this reality demonstrated through Daniel, Moses, Solomon, Rehab and the whole of those who walked with Jesus.  

I was speaking with my niece and nephew the other day as we were shoveling dirt into a trench about the pharaohs of history and their attempt to make themselves eternally significance by building massive monuments to their prominence only to see years later that they are decaying just like their bones did.  Thousands of lives were spent by Pharaoh in his pursuit of significance.  Someday they will be a pile of dirt and a jot in history.

We see many people on TV reach this human goal through fame and notoriety but what about the average individual.  If we are all hardwired for significance does it mean we are mostly incapable of achieving it.  The bottom line question I’m asking is; does your life matter?

The answer is absolutely yes.  This same drive permeates our everyday life, from those who want to be known for standing up against injustice to those who stand on the side of the weak in the face of a bully.  Students spend incredible amounts of effort to score high scholastically.  We see it when parents spend every ounce of effort investing into their offspring, believing if their kids become successful, they will feel significant as parents.

God is not apposed to the drive for significance.  As I already said He himself put that drive within each human creation but an adversary of God’s has polluted this drive immensely. We see people steal, cheat, lie and pervert if they believe it will give them a better position, more material wealth or more prominence among their peers.  We see Petters, Madof, Enron and ING clamoring their way to the top but in the end falling far from grace all to feed this drive.  We see folks living a Jerry Springer lifestyle hoping Dr. Phil will guide them on their path to be a guest on Oprah.  Those who have achieved public notoriety are far to often sidetracked by self-admiration and even eventually Tom Cruise their way to a self-development spirituality.

Significance is satisfied in Christ alone and should not be minimized but rather understood from a perspective of truth.  God wants your life to be significant.  I’ve stated many times that there is a reason you and I are still citizens of this planet after we have chosen to become citizens of Heaven.  We have been designed to play a significant role in telling God’s story to those who are still separated from Him by the gap I spoke of last week.  (Get the CD)

We gain true significance by guiding, helping and leading another planet travelers into a life filled with God.  How many of you here have been instrumental in leading another human being into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? I don’t mean only those who prayed the prayer of salvation with someone, those are just harvesters.  I’m talking about soil tillers, planters, waters and cultivators to use agrarian terms.  I’m talking about someone who gives up his or her own plans to nurture a troubled person into a place of hope.  Many of you at CFC have used this church or one of its activities as a vehicle toward significance.  Each of us has strengths and we need to use them accordingly.

I want to read a portion of scripture to show you where Christ places value.        

(Matthew 23:1-11)    Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ’ the greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

After this portion of scripture Jesus goes on to give seven extremely strong indictments on those who search for significance at the expense of those around them.  

So, Does you life matter?  Yes, someone else on this planet is depending on you to help lead him or her into eternity and you will fulfill your God given purpose when you do it.  All the other tail chasing we do is futile in comparison

You don’t need to be Billy Graham just lead the next Billy Graham to God.  You don’t need to be Mother Theresa just lead the next Mother Theresa into the next trip to “Feed My Starving Children” outreach each second Monday of the month.  You don’t need to earn a million, become President or get a Nobel Peace Prize, just walk someone across the bridge of Christ into eternity and your life has entered into a full-blown state of significance.  

(Luke 15:1-7)    Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Be significant.  Obey your God.  You matter to Him.  Watch out for the lies of what matters in life and experience with me the transformation of those in your sphere of influence and then let’s join the party in Heaven.  Our legacy will not turn back to dust, be swallow by the ocean, be spent by marauders or be lost in time.  We will make a massive difference and we will achieve significance.

The above notes are from Pastor Pasch’s October 18, 2009 message.  To get a free CD of the complete message, contact Christ’s Family Church at (651) 437-2340.