If you are like me, you occasionally wonder if you are making a difference in this world. Or maybe your thinking is centered on something a little closer to home, like your family, but you are still wondering if you are measuring up. We all do this. We all assess ourselves by some standard, whether it is something we heard over and over from a parent while we were growing up, some little voice that speaks to us while we lay awake with our thoughts at night, or a passage of scripture that tells us to “Go and do!”
It is no small thing to be a human being, made in the image of God. It is an amazing privilege to be a son or daughter of the King of Kings, but sometimes it also feels like a burden.
There are voices in this world telling us who are are, how we should behave, or what we should do. And when we think about making a difference, measuring up, or having an impact, most of us go quickly, if not running, toward “going and doing.” But what if this busy-bodied action is only valuable if it follows something that takes a long, long time to develop? What if your impact is not so related to what you do, but it is rooted deep in who you are and why you are alive?
In my effort to help Christians in the middle of life transitions, especially the 20-something, post-college crowd, I wrote What’s Next: Talking with God About the Rest of Your Life. In a chapter on serving and making a difference in this world, I spoke of Jesus’ words, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24), saying,
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he doesn’t exist. There is a battle going on—you may not see it, but it is real. We learn in John 10:10 that the devil is a thief; he comes only to steal and kill and destroy. He has many faces, many brilliant shining lights that beckon us to him. Sometimes he stretches out his bony little hand and grabs onto us, refusing to let go; sometimes he offers us a piece of candy.
No one can serve two masters. In this life of service, how then should we live? WHY do we even live? WHAT am I to do with my life? If our WHY is fixed in our identity in Jesus and our WHAT is rooted in the glory of God and the love of others, then how should we live?
It has been said, “If you want to make a difference in the world, look for where God is at work and join him in what he is doing.” I like that. If I focus on Jesus, the only true source of hope and light in this world, my work with be more fruitful. But more importantly, if I want to love others well to the glory of God, I need to fix my identity in who Jesus says I am and who he created me to be.
What has God created in you? Are you gifted with the ability to make the complex a little less complicated? Do you cherish opportunities to pray for persecuted Christians around the world? Are you really good at encouraging people, solving financial problems, or fighting injustice? If so, do that.
Who has Jesus created you to be? Were you created to love him and enjoy him forever? Were you created to love your neighbor as yourself? Then do that!
There is a battle going on: it is a battle for glory. The devil seeks to steal God’s glory, kill those who bring God glory, and destroy anything and everything that God has made and called good (see Genesis 1). But it is also a battle for your identity. The voices of this world want you to be like them, not like Jesus. They want you to seek your glory and not God’s. They want you to hate your neighbor and yourself. Sometimes, these voices are easy to identify because they are so ridiculous, but other times, they are enticing, brilliant, shining lights that beckon us from the shadows. Do you know the difference? Can you tell the voice of God from all others?
When you abide in Christ, understanding that he is the vine who gives your life meaning, purpose, and beauty, then you can branch out with confidence, knowing that Jesus will fulfill his promise: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
