By Dr. DAN ERICKSON
Cathy and I started People Matter Ministries many years ago
simply because people matter most to us. Christ gave his life up for one reason
– because he so loved the people of this world.
I am writing this blog from a Starbucks -- instead of alone at home -- because people
matter. As I write this, Paul is on my right. Jim is on the left. Jeremiah,
Kathy and Ben are behind the counter. Most of them do not know the Lord yet. We
have become friends. I have sought to become Christ in in the flesh to them.
Why, because they matter to me and to God.
When Paul went into the hospital, his wife called me! He is
so close to finding Christ.
Some may think that I am just wasting my time. Scripture
says that we are to let our lives so shine so that people will see our good
works and glorify our Father in heaven. On Wednesday, Starbucks is my place to
shine. Where is yours on Wednesday, Thursday or Monday morning? It is wherever
you live, worship, work or play.
I just got back from doing a VBS for children and a camp
meeting for adults on a Navajo reservation in Arizona. It was hot and dry. Why
did I do it? Because they matter to God and they need the light.
I travel across the country speaking to men. I don't know
most of them but they matter. I do couples retreats because marriages and
families matter.
Because of my own insecurities I used to fear failure. Now I
fear I would spend what life I have succeeding at what does not matter. How
about you?
Someone once told me many years ago that many of us spend
our lives climbing the ladder of success only to realize, at the end of life,
that it was leaning on the wrong wall. We decided to just move the ladder and
lean it against God’s wall.
There are only two doors you can pick from. There is the wide
way that so many are traveling in search of riches and success – the American
dream. These will only last a lifetime. And then there is the narrow way.
Believe it or not, it leads to riches beyond this lifetime and they last for
eternity. It leads to what really matters!
What are you attempting to succeed at? What road are you
taking? Make sure it has people on it because it is people that Christ died for
and they are what really matter. Then imagine the possibilities!
