Did you ever wonder how significant you are?

Years ago, I had a lofty goal – I wanted to be a television anchor on the six o’clock news in a big city.  So, armed with my newly-acquired Journalism degree, I sent in multiple applications to newsroom executives.  I followed-up with a flurry of telephone calls to ensure my application had been received and I was on their radar for an interview.

In the midst of my obsessive efforts to become the next Barbara Walters, I received a phone call.  It was from a local newspaper’s office wondering if I might be interested in writing feature stories for them.  I wasn’t, but I agreed to meet with the editor just to see what this job entailed.

I wish I could tell you that my heart leapt with joy, but it didn’t.  Internally, I was crushed.  I desperately wanted to be on TV.  I was hungry for a public platform where I could make a difference in people’s lives.  I wanted to be significant.

It has taken me years to learn and understand that being significant isn’t so much about what I do, but is all about who I am.  To be even more clear, as a Christ-follower, everything I do is significant because who I am is significant.

Acts 17:28 says, “In Him, we live and move and have our being…”  I exist because of Him.  I live, breath, work, and love today because of Him.  I AM significant because of Him.

I took the reporter job at the small town newspaper and, because of God, impacted countless lives in ways I could never have imagined.  Was it of a Billy Graham size scale?   No.  But, that is not what God had purposed for me at that time. 

God used that reporter position to develop my character and to help me understand that I was significant because of Him.  He also taught me to love people up close – in their living rooms, one on one,  listening to their heartbreaks and joys (something, in hind sight, I know I never would have learned as an TV anchor).

Can you see God doing that for you today, too?  Are you wondering how you can be significant “just” driving a truck, nursing a sick child, or sitting in a cubicle all day?  It’s because HE’S with you in that truck, with that child, or in that cubicle! Remember, friend, you LIVE and MOVE and BREATH today IN HIM.  And because of that alone, you have meaningful impact on the lives of everyone you interact with today. 

Jesus didn’t question His significance.  He came as a servant dedicated to show people His Father.  He used moments that no one else saw to extend Gospel love, grace, and mercy to the broken, disconnected, and hurting.  He understood His significance and lived it daily.

The real questions is, do you believe you are significant?  As Paul so aptly said to the Galatians, “…it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me.” (2:20)

Until next time, Grace and Glory!