Wednesday, September 23, 2015

contentment (7) significance

What makes you feel significant? Where does your identity come from? Whose opinion do you value? When do you feel good about yourself? What gives you a sense of worth?

Maybe it’s doing well in your career, staying fit and healthy, or being in a relationship. Maybe it’s your IQ, attractiveness, or creativity. Maybe it’s ministry, being a “good” person, or belonging to a certain church or cultural group. We look to all kinds of things to make ourselves feel worthwhile ...

One of my friends was ill for many months. She lay in bed, stared at the trees outside the window, and felt useless. She couldn’t work, care for others, or even carry out the basic tasks of each day. As she lay there, she learned an important truth: that God loves her just as much when she can’t do anything for him, as he does when she can do things that feel significant.

God doesn’t love us because we have value. We have value because he loves us. ...

You can read the rest at The Gospel Coalition Australia

4 comments:

Jill said...

Hello Jean - I have not commented before, but have been reading your blog for some time, and praying for your family. I think I "met" you via a Melbourne friend's post, where she shared one of your articles.

Thank you for this series on contentment. Would you mind if I used some of this material to share with a group of ladies who meet weekly at a craft group at our church here in NZ? (Trinity Reformed Baptist in Hamilton, where my husband is the pastor). Most who attend do not know Jesus, but they listen every week to a short talk from the Bible where we talk about its relevance to our everyday lives, and pray for the needs within the group. I think some of the things you have discussed would be good, thought-provoking triggers for ongoing conversations about the gospel, and helpful to those of us who are Christians as well.

Jean said...

Hi Jill,

Feel absolutely free to use the material at your church. Just put my name in as author, and an acknowledgement to TGC Australia and perhaps this blog (there's an example under the "use" tab) to say that's where the material is from.

Love Jean.

Jean said...

Oh, and I hope it blesses your ladies richly! For Jesus' sake and his glory xxx

Jill said...

Thanks so much Jean. I'll definitely make sure anything we use is attributed to you and TGC :)

Love, Jill