Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 9:00am & 10:45am, Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
9:00am & 10:45am,
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

The Secret To Significance

“Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.” – Rick Warren.

There are a certain number of questions that seem to haunt our lives at different times and in different ways. What real difference does my life make? What real contributions have I made or will I make in this world?” Do I dare to ask the question, “how much do I matter,” for fear of discovering the answer. These questions are at the heart of the basic fear of living and leading lives of significance.

Some years back, Cal Ripken Jr. broke fellow Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig’s long-standing record by playing in his 2,131st consecutive game in 1995. Ripken did not just break Gehrig’s record either. He smashed it. Ripken ended his streak at 2,632 games more than three years after breaking the record. It was a significant streak and gave putting on the uniform and playing each day additional meaning. Today, that record continues to have significance in baseball.

We all want to do something of significance for our community or at least for our families. Often, however, we find significance in temporary things like power, wealth, prestige, position, etc.

Paul talked about the subject of our significance: ”I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20) Paul declares that only in what Christ has done and has made us to be can we see ourselves as being significant. Paul is pointing us to an entirely different way of measuring our significance and importance. Our worth is not rooted in our possessions, our position, our power, or our prestige.  Our worth and significance are not found in anything we have done or in what the world sees as significant. Our significance is rooted in Christ’s love towards us. Our worth in Christ also is something that is permanent.

As we have received God’s love, we will also want to reflect this love. People should see in us Christ himself and then notice that God sees us as significant. If we use Christ as our mirror in understanding our importance and worth as a person, something interesting takes place. If we understand that we are in Christ, we begin to mirror Christ to others around us. And if we mirror Christ to others, we find that Christ has given us purpose and meaning to our lives. Our significance lies not in ourselves, but in Christ. The result is that we can and will make a difference in the world and in the lives of others.

When we see ourselves in Christ, we are given not only significance, but a purpose. We are given something that will enable us to make a difference, to make an impact on the lives of others around us. If Christ lives in us, we have His love, His presence, and His compassion living in us. We are then enabled to share His love, His presence, and His compassion with those around us. And that makes for a life of significance.

Discussion Question:

  1. Do you ever feel like you will never measure up? Or that you must meet certain standards to feel good about yourself?
  2. What is preventing you from living a life of significance?
  3. Take the time to consider what God is trying to teach you this week. What can you do this week to better or reconnect with God?
  4. What does the Bible say about our significance: Psalms 34:17-20; Genesis 1:27; Psalms 139;13-16: Ephesians 2:4-9; Matthew 10:31; Romans 8:32. What is God telling us in these verses? Do they change how we view our significance?

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