A friend of mine posed the question today, "What is success to you?" It's a good question, one that certainly makes me think. The easy answer would be something along the lines of, "Success is getting a high-powered job, earning an advanced degree, achieving fame and fortune..." But when I look at the numbers of failed marriages, suicides, bankruptcies, drug and alcohol addictions, you name it, among the so-called "successful" people in the world, I have a hard time accepting that as a valid measure of success.
As his gift to me for my college graduation, my brother made a beautiful video in which he taped members of my family saying words of encouragement or advice to me for my big day. I'll never forget what my mother said. "It's true," she said, "that you've overcome a lot of challenges to get where you are today. But I'll tell you, if you hadn't done any of it, I still would be proud of you, because you have a relationship with the Lord. And Lauren, I just want you to keep in perspective that although you've gotten a lot of honors and applaudits and approval from the world, that really none of it, in the eternal sense, matters. I just want to make sure that you keep that in perspective that the most important thing ever, that will matter, is your relationship with the Lord."
So what is success to you? The Bible says that success is to do what the Lord commands. By that token, Jesus was a great success. Of course as Christians we automatically assume that of course Jesus was a succees, but by the world's standards, He was a huge failure.
Which tells me something about success. You're going to have to choose what kind of success you want, who's standard you are going to be judged by, because often they won't coincide. Sometimes, of course, they will - there are plenty of wealthy Christians who are in God's will - but often they won't. So choose today, as Joshua did, whom you will serve. As for me, I will serve the Lord.
As his gift to me for my college graduation, my brother made a beautiful video in which he taped members of my family saying words of encouragement or advice to me for my big day. I'll never forget what my mother said. "It's true," she said, "that you've overcome a lot of challenges to get where you are today. But I'll tell you, if you hadn't done any of it, I still would be proud of you, because you have a relationship with the Lord. And Lauren, I just want you to keep in perspective that although you've gotten a lot of honors and applaudits and approval from the world, that really none of it, in the eternal sense, matters. I just want to make sure that you keep that in perspective that the most important thing ever, that will matter, is your relationship with the Lord."
So what is success to you? The Bible says that success is to do what the Lord commands. By that token, Jesus was a great success. Of course as Christians we automatically assume that of course Jesus was a succees, but by the world's standards, He was a huge failure.
Which tells me something about success. You're going to have to choose what kind of success you want, who's standard you are going to be judged by, because often they won't coincide. Sometimes, of course, they will - there are plenty of wealthy Christians who are in God's will - but often they won't. So choose today, as Joshua did, whom you will serve. As for me, I will serve the Lord.
1 Kings 2:1-4
1Not long before David died, he told Solomon: 2My son, I will soon die, as everyone must. But I want you to be strong and brave. 3Do what the LORD your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go. 4You and your descendants must always faithfully obey the LORD. If you do, he will keep the solemn promise he made to me that someone from our family will always be king of Israel.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
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