“Michael Jordan spent the night at my house twice this summer,” this first week first grader said to my wife. He was dead serious. Not a wink, grin, or shrug. He said it like he meant it. He wanted her to know he was important. End of conversation.

    All of us have a desire to be significant. We may not want to attract a lot of attention to ourselves in a crowd or be singled out for special attention, but we want to be significant. We want to have a life that matters. The sad thing is, we spend so much time trying to gain what God has already given us.

He makes his home in us until we go to his place to live with him.

    We are made of God's stuff—made in God’s image, with significance and authority. He personally made us, carefully crafting us in our mother’s womb. He has a plan for our future and a purpose for our being here. When we became Christians—when we trusted in Jesus as Lord and we shared in his death, burial and resurrection in baptism—we were adopted into his family as a full heir to all of his inheritance. As a Christian we have been given spiritual gifts to use to honor God and bless others in our spiritual family. He makes his home in us until we go to his place to live with him. He will never leave us or forsake us. No one and nothing can separate us from his love. He works even the worst things in our lives out in ways that ultimately benefit us and get us to where he wants us to be. When Jesus returns, we will share in his triumph and his glory.

    You see, significance is a slam dunk. It’s not even an issue. The real issue is whether we can accept it as a gift and trust it as a foundation for our life. We don’t have to win God’s love or attention. He has already given it to us. His fingerprints are on our DNA and his pencil sketches out our future. So we can trust we are his and not be driven to doubt by Satan’s attacks.

    We can also help others under the assault of doubt find their significance, too. “If God only had a voice or could touch me with his hands,” they say, “then I could know I’m worth somethin’.” But then, that’s why we’re here—to be his voice and touch others as his hands. God didn’t call any of us to be solo flight Christians. We’re a community of significance to help those who struggle at believing in their own.

    Significance is a slam dunk if we’ll only trust that God came to our court and chose us for his team. Then until we can go home to be with him, he not only spends the night with us, but he never leaves us!