Nobody Hands Out Awards for What Matters Most

Think about how most pastors measure their impact.

Usually, it’s attendance. How have the last few weeks, months, or years gone? Whether the numbers are up or down.

Far less often is it measured by the disciples coming to Christ who will produce multiple generations of impact in the decades still to come.

I don’t say that as a criticism. It’s human nature. Most of us view our lives the same way. We want to see impact now, not decades down the road.

We Live for the Near Future

We are tempted to evaluate almost everything by what it produces in the near future rather than the long term.

Take our physical health. People want to get in shape, lose weight, build strength, or run a marathon. And they want it this week, this month, this season, or this year. There is very little thought about what they will be like in a decade.

We Chase What Gets Applause

When I was in high school, I focused on sports accomplishments and girls, like most guys my age. But one of the things I learned at the University of Michigan, where I came into a personal relationship with Christ through Cru, was this: it wasn’t my sports accomplishments or whom I was dating that followed me through life.

It was my heart, my attitude, and my growth profile. Those factors determined the next decade, and really my whole life.

We don’t give awards for a heart for God. So why are we surprised when young people pursue what earns accolades and ignore what doesn’t? I know some churches try to recognize it, but it often feels a little hokey.

Ironically, in high school we get accolades for looks, grades, sports, popularity, and being hip. Those don't produce long-term health and impact. Some of them have their place. But they won’t carry you for a lifetime.

Deep Relationships Take Decades

The same is true of relationships with depth and marriages with intimacy. These take decades to build. If we don’t focus on the long game, we will never receive the hidden blessings that come from these kinds of relationships.

They are only forged by working through difficult times. By being honest, patient, compassionate, kind, courageous, disciplined, and loving. These fruit only come as we walk in and through the power of the Spirit and allow Him to change us more than the other person.

Relationships only grow as we change ourselves within them.

Too often we look for people who will meet our needs. What we need instead is someone who will grow and stretch us into who God desires us to be.

That is what a healthy relationship is all about: two people growing into who God desires them to be through the friction, frustration, and encouragement of the other.

My wife, Mary Kay, and I are still on this journey.

I see this in my friendships also, especially those that have lasted more than 20 years. I have a number of them. I am grateful for each one, and I am a different person because of them.

Reading for a Lifetime

This is true mentally as well. I didn’t know much in my twenties compared to what I have accumulated today. I hope I will say the same thing 15 to 20 years from now.

So many of us read things written only for today or this week. Think of how much time we spend watching TV, which is so temporary in its orientation. We spend much of our time consuming what promises immediate gratification rather than a lifetime of fulfillment.

I do not regret, for one moment, the TV shows and movies we never watched so we would have time to read and build habits that have rewarded us over a lifetime.

By the way, I’m not suggesting a hermit lifestyle. There is something in between, where we stay current but still keep our focus on long-term growth.

Paul’s Hidden Years in Tarsus

It seems Paul kept this perspective for much of his life, but he had to learn it.

In Acts 9, immediately after his conversion, he was quite aggressive and made a substantial impact in the short term. Then the apostles sent him home to Tarsus. And I find the very next verse fascinating:

“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” (Acts 9:31, NIV)

Ironically, this verse was written by Luke, a friend, confidant, and disciple of Paul. He tells us plainly that the church did very well without Paul.

Paul then spent years in obscurity in Tarsus. I believe God was working in his heart during that time, growing him into a person with a lifetime focus, not a next-time focus.

In fact, I would suggest our focus needs to be more than a lifetime focus. It needs to be an eternal one.

Several decades later, Paul wrote these words:

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12–14, NIV)

Here is a man who has learned to keep his focus not on the immediate but on the eternal.

That is my goal too. It has encouraged and challenged me to keep rhythms and habits that produce not only current dividends but eternal ones. And when the current and the eternal compete, Scripture reminds me to prioritize the eternal.

I agree with Paul: “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19, NIV)

This is where our faith becomes concrete. What are you building your life on?

If there is no eternity, we are fools. We should do as Paul says a few verses later: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

But if our faith is grounded in reality, then we are living for eternity. And we will keep growing in that reality, where time is no longer a dimension.

That is why it’s called faith. And so I believe, live, and prioritize my life accordingly.