Your True Measure of Success

The most accomplished man ever to live on earth, the Son of God, had a list of personal achievements that astonished ordinary men. He was the quintessential “successful older brother,” the One whose footsteps all the other siblings hoped to follow to please their Father! 

As far as we know, Jesus never interviewed for a job. Like a king, He was appointed and anointed to do His work. Yet if Jesus Christ had a resume, it might look like this:


Jesus’s achievements pointed to a superior intelligence, a keen sense of timing and strategy, and amazing people skills. 

He was often criticized for His failure to market Himself properly, yet His aversion to self-promotion resulted in the largest social following known to man. 

He had no formal training, yet excelled in professions like public speaking, the medical arts, and event management. 

He understood personal mission before it was popular to write mission statements or create “vision boards,” and stayed true to His goals throughout His career.

However, when His ministry on earth was over, none of the accomplishments on Christ’s resume were a source of pride for Him. Instead, summing up His career in John 17, He recognized that everything He did came from the Father. (See John 17:7 & 10.)

JESUS: AN INTERVIEW
Interview Jesus, and He might describe His career this way: “I reveal God to those in need. I speak God’s direct messages. I am a Builder and a Restorer.” 

Ask Him about His strengths, and Jesus might say: “I ‘think different,’ outside the box,  finding creative ways to promote loyalty to God. I’m a good communicator, keeping those I serve close to God.  I know how to protect people from evil schemes and bad ideas. I have lost no one except the one of whom it was prophesied he would be lost.” 

Ask any other person what they have achieved in life and they will list completed tasks, fulfilled dreams, or finished works. Ask Jesus which of His achievements He treasures most, and He will say - as He did to God in John 17 -  that He has loved well. 

Any personal glory Christ had came, He believed, through those He loved and touched. (John 17:10.) His mission was not to promote Himself but to obey and promote His "boss." Doing only what the Father told Him to do, He never claimed that any of the works were His alone. 

In short, the various and diverse works listed in the Gospels - Christ’s “resume” - were all done with one singular motive: to reveal the life and love of God to people!

THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS
Success for the Son of God was to keep us close. Miracles and wonders were secondary - not done to astound us but to woo us.  Christ’s greatest achievement was relational. He kept friends near Him and drew strangers closer to Him. 

Think about it: Jesus ministered in a time when the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out; when the internal desire of His friends was motivated more by a genuine love for Him as a person than by a compelling belief that He was God. His greatest achievement was the preservation of relational unity with His friends, which allowed Him to bring them, believing, into a relationship with the Father as He tore open the veil of separation.

All the accomplishments on Christ’s imaginary resume meant little to Him, compared to His overarching achievement of rooting people in God’s love.

This is why Jude worshiped Jesus, saying:

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen!”  (Jude 1:24-25, NIV). 

CALLED TO LOVE
As Christ's ambassadors, are we not called to do the same? All our good works pale in comparison to the singular mission we've been given by God: to love each other as Christ has loved us. "Let love be your aim," the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14. This objective should be at the top of every believer's resume!

What about you? What are your achievements? How do you define success? 

May we, like our Elder Brother, never be proud of our accomplishments but measure success by our love! 



© Deborah Perkins / www.HisInscriptions.com