significance

one of the largest homes at Cades Cove

Last Sunday, our pastor made a rather sobering comment during his sermon. The jist of it was that in a few generations no one will remember us. That set me to thinking. All week. Joshua's children may know me or something about me, but Joshua's granchildren probably won't.

Hmmm. This thought was confirmed in a few other sermons I heard on the local Christian radio station this week.

Depressing? Could be, but in a way it is freeing. To the generations to come and especially in light of eternity a lot of the stuff that we fret and agonize over doesn't amount to much. Joshua, his children and grandchildren won't care where I planted certain flowers and if I prepared good meals and set a good table and decorated my home in a pleasing way.

What will matter to them is that they had a praying grandma. Whether they know it or not.

~~~~~

I am reading through the Bible chronologically this year, as are some of you.

This morning I read Numbers 7, as did some of you.

The striking thing about Numbers 7 is that each man gave exactly the same offering and yet God saw fit to record each one. He didn't say ditto or that Nethanel and Eliab and Elizur and all the rest of the guys brought exactly the same gifts as Nashon. He enumerated each gift:

"The offering he brought was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; one gold ladle weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five maled lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering."

This passage is repeated twelve times in Numbers 7.

Here is where our significance lies. Not that we are famous (or infamous) or rich or beautiful or talented or memorable in any way. Our significance comes from our relationship with God. He created us. He loves us .

Each gift we give, each prayer we pray, each hair on our head - all our known by God.

Now that is significance.