She sat in the adjoining office without an appointment, but waiting nervously for the Chief to get off of the phone. "Will he even want me back after leaving the way I did?", she wondered to herself. She noticed her reflection in the office window glass, beyond which sat the ladder truck she used to drive. It seemed to fit now; the truck a part of her own reflection.She had given it up. Tired of laundry; tired of dishes; tired of chores; tired of meetings; tired of him. Luckily, an old high school friend hooked her up with an exciting new director when she arrived in L.A.. A seemingly overnight success had brought on the life she felt she had long since deserved: the sports car, the mansion-like house, the headlines, the parties. This was the good life!The earthquake had come without any warning as violent tremors birthed the fear of death and destruction around her. She stumbled numbly through the dust and rubble to a fire station she had noticed just the day before. They were huddled in a circle on one knee, hands on shoulders, heads bowed in prayer. She joined them in supplication, "No more me, God. I thought this kind of life would fulfill me, but now I know that You are real, and have been this whole time. Please, You make me who You want me to be."."The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10: 10) Mankind's greatest need is to be significant - to find purpose and meaning in this life. Some satisfy this need by pursuing their own personal ambitions, while others may find fulfillment in studying Scriptures and obeying God. Jesus said in John 15: 5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Thus any worldly pursuit for significance will not last, but will surely fade away. On the other hand, life in Christ has true significance, purpose, and meaning, and has an eternal stature.A person without Christ can expect to obtain only the limited, temporary significance in fame, possessions, and power. These inapporpriate quests are flawed in that they determine who you are as a person by what quantity of these vain qualities you have. The problem lies in that they all terminate upon death. The old saying, "you can't take it with you" applies here.Good news! God's intention is for us to have a personal relationship with Him and pursue godliness in our daily life. This is significance far greater than any worldly production. Unfortunately, there is a strong resistance to this idea. We think we can work towards achieving immortality by our own doing. The evidence is clear in the allure of staying young and beautiful, powerful and efficient, and rich and famous. James 4: 14 addresses this: "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
Instead of pursuing these self-gratifying interests we must clothe ourselves with an attitude of serving others. Jesus commanded this in Matthew 16: 24-26 with a very stout warning at the end: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?'". The risk is clear. Our motive should be to serve Christ in faith, love, and obedience. If we are willing to study the Bible, let God speak to us, and be doers of the word, we can be used by God in the brief time we will spend on Earth. God can give us significance in this way.So give yourself a motive test everyday: whom will I serve?; what am I pursuing?. Dive into the Book and allow God's Spirit to empower you in finding purpose and meaning in this life. To God be the glory.Next week: Purpose: Why Do I Exist?
