Just a speck in the universe?

Do you ever wake up in the morning and wonder if you matter if you really are more than just a passing speck of life in the universe? Sure, you are important to your family, perhaps to a small circle of friends, but are you truly valuable; do you matter?

We may not say it out loud, but we all tend to think about our worth. We look for value for ourselves in all kinds of things. Some seek physical attractiveness. Some accumulate wealth or symbols of it. Some pursue awards and titles. Some crave to be known. Yet we wonder – ‘do I matter?’  Age comes and beauty fades. Economies fail and wealth disappears. In time another takes our place.

Solomon, a king of Israel, enjoyed it all and yet in his old age he cynically wrote – “I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2)

There is a lasting way to find purpose and significance in this world, one that endures time and change, which cannot be stolen or erased. We need not become cynical with time and age if we know what God says about us and our value!

Jesus teaches us that God knows the smallest detail about you and me! He said – “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. And you are worth more than a whole flock of sparrows.” (Matthew 10)

The Psalmist says of God. “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!”  (139)

Yes, we are known, valued, treasured, and made for His love, not just as a group, but each one of us individually.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, my favorite book of the Bible because of the truth of grace and purpose of which he writes, includes this passage. “God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2)

In spite of our failures and our frailties, He loves you and me and gifts us with life, valuing us as living examples of His “incredible wealth of grace and kindness.”  That’s something worth living for and truly a reason to know that we matter. We are part of the Divine Plan.

I was touched and inspired by the testimony of Jelly Roll, a country artist, at last week’s Grammy awards. He offered a powerful testimony crediting Jesus and his wife for saving him from an awful past of addiction, drug-dealing, and prison. "Jesus is for everybody," he said, asserting faith belongs to the broken, not just the polished. A life once worthless by all accounts was made new by faith and from that loving grace he found, a new value and way of living emerged!

When we accept the grace of God, by faith, we are both humbled and made noble in the same moment. We realize that our worth can never be attained by any effort we make and yet we know that we are “royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. … Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2)

Yes, our lives are short, and our earthly accomplishments are soon eclipsed. But, in Christ Jesus, we are of great worth – now and for eternity. Believe it, friend. This truth will change your life. It provides freedom from pride and fear, and it is a reason for joy.

I close with yet another amazing passage from God’s Word, our word for today. BE encouraged, called to higher purpose by the Truth. “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.”  (1 John 3)

Believe it. Live it. Find new joy.

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This race we run.

Last night I watched the spectacle that opened the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and what a show it was: so well done and classy!  Hundreds of athletes walked and danced their way into the games, eager to compete, to show off their skill, and to pursue a medal.

As I watched a thought recurred in my mind. “This show is not really the heart of the Olympics. The real stuff has been happening on ski slopes and ice rinks for years. What these young athletes achieve now will be result of what they have done with discipline in preparation.” 

Nobody just parties their way to the international competition. 
They work … hard!

Our Christian life can take a lesson from them. IF we hope to know the best of what God has prepared, if we want to serve in the most effective way for Christ Jesus, if we desire to find the richest reward in eternity, we need to understand the importance of focus and discipline.  Paul was inspired by the athletes of his day and tells us - “Run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.”  (1 Corinthians 9)

There is an important point to be made before we go on – we cannot earn God’s favor, nor is eternal life in Heaven the result of human effort. We are made children of God by faith and because of His grace – period. Jesus gave Himself for us, made peace with God on our behalf, and offers the gift of spiritual life to all who will receive Him.

However, the Christian life requires focus, purpose, choice, and discipline. Spiritual maturity does not just come with age or time. We grow into the fullness of the life of the Spirit by learning, practicing, and sacrificing.

In my early years I thought that being a good Christian would result from an experience found in some revival meeting or through some ecstatic moment in prayer. I lived on a spiritual roller coaster going from one emotional height to another with long dips in valleys of discouragement. I questioned why I could not seem to find the richness of Christ that I read about in stories of great Christians.

Then I found a book that changed my Christian life. Richard Foster wrote The Celebration of Discipline in 1978, outlining the daily choices we can make that open our minds and hearts to the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.  He explained the value of meditation, study, solitude, simplicity, submission, service, and worship. These were not to be practiced incidentally or at my convenience. They were daily choices, like the regular training of an athlete. What a difference I found as I became purposeful in my Christian life, moving beyond a focus on my emotions.

I learned to serve, to love, to forgive, to remain steadfast in commitment through the ups and downs of daily life in this present age. No longer focused on myself, I looked to Christ and His Word for identity and for hope. When my race is over my true hope is not that others will say – “What a great guy Jerry was.” Rather, I pray that it will be said, “What a great God he served!”

The best reward will be hearing those words of my Savior – “Well done, faithful servant!”

Are you growing into spiritual maturity?
Are you serving with joy in a way that honors your spiritual gifts?
Are you loving extravagantly, as you are loved?

Remember, the aim is not perfection, it is growth. Let’s grow together.

Here is a word from the Word, my testimony. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things.”  (Philippians 3)

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“I gotta be perfect!”

In a conversation with a person about ‘going to Heaven’ he blurted out – “I gotta be perfect to get there and I know I’m not!”  He was both right and wrong in his conclusions. Yes, it true that our holy God has no tolerance for sin and no stain of sinfulness is allowed in His eternal city. But there is a perfection available to you and me that is not of our own making!

I am only too aware of my sins and failures. It is not a stretch for me to understand David’s lament. “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict …Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.”  (Psalm 51)

This guilt is a universal condition in the human experience. Paul reminds us that "all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23)

So much for perfection, right? This being the truth how can we hope for a home in God’s eternal city? How can we even dream of eternal life?

Against the dark background of our failures stands the grace of God who acted to set us right with Him, removing our guilt, and gifting us with a holy perfection not of our making. “God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:24)

In Ephesians we read about the amazingly scandalous love of God for us in the opening lines and then in chapter 2, there is an abrupt change. This is the indictment- "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3, NIV)

Then, he writes, "But God..." There is the Divine Exception which makes our hope of a home in Heaven (and a life in His Presence right here, right now) possible! "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. ... God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." --Ephesians 2:3-10 NLT

The Perfect God did not take the “Grandpa” route in dealing with our sins. We grandparents are ever so ready to ignore or excuse the failures of our grandchildren. We are not responsible for their training so we can just get on with loving them. God is our Father, not our Grandpa. He cannot look at our disobedient behavior and brush it off, overlook it, or excuse it.

But He can offer a sacrifice that forgives us, an atonement for our guilt debt, and the power of the Spirit that changes us from sinner to saint. That is exactly what He’s done for us in Christ Jesus.

When we begin to grasp the depth of His grace, accepting the gift of life, then love replaces fear. Assurance replaces uncertainty. We no longer hide from Him or pretend that we are better than we are. We need not live in denial of the truth about want we have done. Instead, we let Him lead us even through the tests and trials that perfect our faith. In this way He brings us to spiritual maturity. This ‘perfection’ thing is a process – a work of our Deliverer and the disciplines of the Spirit.

Do you want to be rid of the fear of eternity? Do you want to be free from shame? Honestly confess your sins and failures to God, then receive the Gift. The Word tells us we “no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”  (Philippians 3)
From that starting point of faith, God leads us into a new kind of life, and we become in reality who He has declared us to be. Here is a word from the Word. May it guide us to hope today. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  (Phil. 3:12-14)

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