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Hi everyone,

I want to talk about something we all experience, especially as the year winds down: the universal ache for significance.

Have you ever been at a party or a gathering and felt completely invisible? You look around and start wondering if anyone would even notice if you left. Or maybe you finally achieved that big promotion, but shortly afterward, you were left with the same ache in your heart, asking yourself, “Do I matter?”.

We’re all driven by a desire to feel valuable. Unfortunately, our fallen nature pushes us to look for it in all the wrong places.

The Trap of Chasing Temporary Validation

We pour our hearts and souls into things that are destined to fail us. We chase temporary, human validation:

  • Career: We pursue the next rung on the ladder, convinced that a corner office or a larger paycheck will make us significant.
  • Social Media: We spend hours crafting posts and pictures, hoping to gain enough "likes" and followers to feel noticed and appreciated.
  • Stuff: We seek significance through what we own—the bigger home, the nice car, the boat.

But here’s the harsh truth: even when we achieve all those things, we often still feel insignificant. The reason is simple: we were looking in the wrong places and chasing the wrong source of worth. When those temporary things—careers, relationships, causes—crumble, our temporary sense of significance collapses with them.

The Radical Antidote: God Chooses the Lowly

To find the true answer, we have to look back at the most radical part of the Christmas story in Luke 2:8-12.

Think about it: when the King of Kings was born, who did God choose to receive the announcement? Not kings in palaces, not high priests in the temple, and not the Roman Emperor. God bypassed the proud and powerful and sent His angels to a group of shepherds—men who were considered lowly, common laborers, and socially despised.

To these humble, ordinary workers, God said: "I see you. You are worthy to be the first witnesses".

This is the ultimate answer to your heart’s ache. God demonstrates that true significance is not earned through human achievement, but is freely granted. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Your Significance is Sealed in Christ Alone

So, what does this mean for you?

When you place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you find eternal, unfailing significance.

  • Your worth is no longer determined by others’ opinions.
  • It is measured by the infinite value Heaven placed on you when Jesus died for you on the cross.
  • You become co-heir with His Son, joined to an eternal purpose and a glory that cannot fade.

You no longer need the world’s validation, because your life is "hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

Living the Story: The Ordinary as an Act of Worship

The story doesn’t end with you receiving that significance; it begins there.

The shepherds didn't just stand there in awe. They immediately went to Bethlehem, saw the Savior, and then they "made known abroad the saying". They were transformed into the first evangelists!

They returned to their ordinary fields and flocks, but they were not the same. They returned "glorifying and praising God".

This is your calling. You don't have to quit your job or go to a foreign mission field to be significant. Significance doesn't require a dramatic life change; it requires a dramatic change in perspective.

Your Monday morning commute, the spreadsheets you work on, the tasks you handle—they all become an act of worship because you are no longer defined by the world. You are defined by Christ. The most significant thing an ordinary person can do is share the good news of the extraordinary Savior they have met.

A Final Choice: What is Your "NOW"?

The shepherds said, "Let us NOW go." They didn't delay the response.

I want to ask you two final questions:

  1. Have you obeyed the first command? Has the significance of Christ's birth and death led you to place your faith in Him, accepting Him as your personal Savior? Stop trying to earn your worth, and simply receive it through Christ.
  2. Will you live the story? Will you stop waiting for the perfect platform and, like those humble shepherds, return to your ordinary life this week glorifying and praising God, making known that He has made you significant?

Don't delay. This is your "NOW."