Significance is the quality of being worthy of attention; importance. It is the quality of having notable worth or influence. It comes from Latin significare – to indicate, or portend. Portend means to be a sign that something is likely to happen. Sign is also the root word of significance.
We all are on a quest for significance. We desire to not just be another face in the crowd, but to be singly known, loved, appreciated and deemed worthy inside of ourselves, to others and to God. There are times when we look at the mundane nature of life, the daily process patterns with which we are engaged and wonder, “Is this it? Is this all that my life will be about? Am I a nobody? Would anyone really miss me if I were gone?”
We look into the eyes of our loved ones to see if they think we’re worthy of their attention. The pain and loneliness of isolation and rejection are too much to bear. The questions, “Do you love me?” or “Do you think I’m special?” “Do I matter?” though rarely spoken, are pervasive at home, in school, in the workplace and even in church. We want to be of NOTABLE worth to others…and to God.
On Sunday, we taught that the currency of the Kingdom of God is love. Love is what is of value and worth. God defines love in this way in 1 John 4:10 “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” We quote John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It would seem clear by these two passages alone, that God thinks you are pretty significant. We gloss over the magnitude of this demonstration of love and try to bring God down to our terms and conditions. “God, if You loved me, You would do X….,” “If God loved me, He would have allowed Y…” “If I get this promotion, I’m happy because God loves me….” “If I get married, I know God loves me…” and conversely if God doesn’t do what we want…He doesn’t love us. But God has already delineated the terms of His Great love. Can you imagine literally giving one of your children to die so another person…no… your enemy could live? Would that person ever ask you for another thing? Would they question whether or not they were significant to you? Whether your relationship to them was real? Whether or not you loved them? Wouldn’t they be willing to give you anything?
Paul said it this way, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 8:6-8) We look for significance in many places that are really about our own performance: success in our families or careers, what kind of home we own, how much money we have in the bank, fame, power, and notoriety, etc. God established your importance and value at Calvary. Your existence influenced Him to send His one and only Son to die for you! Until we all see the CROSS as the foundation for, and basis of our significance: we will continue to be on a never-ending search for what we’ve had all along…
