Lasting significance is . . . ............. Parables 715

May 8, 2001

An English-speaking writer from Montreal contacted me with an odd request — she could not find quotation marks on her keyboard. She explained that she wanted to submit to English markets that required them. I eventually discovered that she was using a French keyboard. It does not have quotation marks because the French do not use them in their writing. At that point, I realize I’d made an assumption. I thought ordinary quotation marks were a universal punctuation.

How many other ‘ordinary’ things do I assume are universal? I remember one social norm that is commonplace to me but not to everyone. Here, we easily chat with service and retail people but this is not done in all other countries. People from Russia are delighted yet open-mouthed when they first encounter a friendly conversation from a Canadian grocery store clerk.

Despite differences between cultures, universals do exist. These common situations or issues tend to bond or bring people together. For instance, everyone shares joy, sorrow, loneliness and grief. These emotions are experienced by people of all ages and all over the world. Everyone fears dying and everyone wants to be significant. We want to know that our lives matter, or at least that we are noticed or important in some way. This is a universal desire. From Alaska to Zimbabwe, toddlers show off to impress anyone who might be watching. Young people boast to their friends and adults talk about work and their accomplishments. While everyone may not want to be at the top of the heap, no one wants their life to pass without notice.

We generally measure significance by size and quantity, like how much money, power, fame, possessions, popularity do we have? We pick what we think is big enough to impress others and take note of what they have that impresses us. The problem with this measurement is that no matter how much we have or gain, there is always someone else with more. Our race for importance becomes a rat race, and by running it, we find ourselves continually pressured by a sense of defeat.

Is there a significance that lasts? Would lasting importance be ours if we could make an impression on someone who lasts? On the eternal God? Our hearts say ‘yes’ but before jumping to it, we need to know that He is not impressed by size or numbers. He says in Deuteronomy, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you . . . .”

Our quantities do not impress God because His standards are not in the same ballpark. We want to attain and be proud of ourselves but He is pleased by something we tend to avoid: humility and sacrifice. The Bible says, “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” It defines the most pleasing sacrifice as “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

To impress God, we must come to Him in humility, seeking His mercy and forgiveness and offering ourselves to Him. Mercy and forgiveness are universal needs too, but only God can satisfy them.

Once we ask for His blessing and begin to give to others instead of take from them or try to impress them, we find that He graciously supplies all our needs, universal or otherwise. He becomes our joy, our peace, our wisdom, our source of strength, even our significance.

Dear Jesus, You promise to live in the hearts of humble people. You say you will “never leave us or forsake us.” You become our ‘forever friend’ so we are never alone again, no matter who walks out of our lives. You are also our significance. You give us work to do that matters, not only in this life but for eternity, but our greatest worth is in the price that You were willing to pay for our forgiveness. Thank You for your mercy and grace, and for eternal life. Amen.