Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A Meditation on Significance

Read this morning a passage from Larry Crabb's book The Marriage Builder (awesome book on marriage by the way):

"Significance: A realization that I am engaged in a responsibility or job that truly is important, whose results will not evaporate with time but will last through eternity, that fundamentally involves having a meaningful impact on another person, a job for which I am completely adequate."

There is so much in this little passage.

There are some great phrases in this short paragraph, that if broken down can turn into something that I need to meditate on in regards to my life:
  • "a job that truly is important"
  • "whose results will not evaporate with time"
  • "involves having a meaningful impact on another person"
  • "a job that I am completely adequate"
In that sense, this passage almost reads like a proverb or poem.

Many questions pop up for me when I read it like this.
  • What job has God given me that is "truly important?" Obviously, I have been given more than just my "work" here at Ada Bible Church -- what else are the jobs that He has given me to accomplish at this current moment in time? Some other obvious ones would be--follower of Christ, father, husband, friend--are there any others? Throughout life these "jobs" can often change; what are mine for today, in this moment in time?
  • What are the "results" that He requires of me? What are the daily ones that seem insignificant, but actually "will not evaporate with time?" Doing homework with my sons, cleaning the bathroom, sitting with someone over coffee who has just experienced a great loss. What are the ones that are long-term projects? My sons one day following God to important places in their lives, a very good 50 years of marriage--these are the ones that are obvious to me. God, what else to you have up your sleeve for me in these next years???
  • Who am I "impacting?" Maybe a good goal for me each day is to do at least one genuine, self-less good thing for someone, maybe even someone I really don't like so much? Should that be a goal? Should I not even have the goal of attempting to "impact" someone? Perhaps I accomplish this goal by merely being "good" to others throughout the day?
  • Lastly, what are the jobs that the Lord has uniquely gifted me and ones that I am "completely adequate?" How can I stretch myself so as to discover the "jobs" that I don't think I am adequate at accomplishing, but in stepping out in faith, I at least try and then in the end realize, "Wow, I am pretty good at that!"
These are some thoughts of mine today.