A DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE

 

A DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE

My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit.

-Jeremiah 17:7-8

 

In the landscape of life man’s search for significance is perhaps a life- long quest.  In this earthly landscape,  we are led to believe that to be significant, is  to rise up and strive, even overtake others,   by  becoming  famous, powerful, rich, influential,  and respected.  To be honored,  and given the accolades  hoping that the monuments built in our memory would remain among the living. 

 

No one can argue against that.

 

 In God’s landscape it is different.  He declared that He will be in charge in making His people flourish. He will take charge in making the lives of His people count.  He promises that if they surely trust Him and  He is their Confidence, then they will be blessed. Their eternal significance is assured and they will spring up in greater abundance like grass in a meadow, like trees  planted by the water which bear fruit in season  and whose leaves will not wither,  and they will have no anxiety in case of drought. There will  be no need for monuments to mark their passing for they will  be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.

WHAT WILL MATTER

So what will matter?
 

How will the value of your days be measured?
 

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.
 

What will matter is not your success but your significance.
 

What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
 

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
 

What will matter is not your competence but your character.
 

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when your gone.
 

What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.

-FROM WHAT WILL MATTER by Michael Josephson

OUT OF THE ORDINARY

We often underestimate our ability to make a significant difference in our small corner of the world.

My friend who works as a clerk in a bank tells me there are times that he belittles himself because he feels he belongs to the lower rung of the corporate ladder that what he does every day  hardly matters at all.

This is a deception. 

God’s word reminds us that we are indeed significant. We are the only creature formed in the image our Creator. We are much more than we think even if we count ourselves as belonging to the class of the ordinary.

Our Lord said we are worth more than the lesser creatures like the birds of the air. 

We may find ourselves in a place where our feeble contribution will seem so negligible as to make an impact of earthshaking transformation in the lives of people, nations, and communities. But if we live a life pleasing to before God, we see that our daily acts of compassion, love, honesty, diligence, patience and kindness, will significantly create ripples of change to make  a small corner of this world a better place.

Cheer up friend! Continue to be faithful.