Significance

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.  Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.  Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.  Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.  Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.  Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.  Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.  Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the
Lord.  Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.  Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.  Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.” (Romans 16:1-15 NIV)

I think most readers of the Scriptures, when they come to a list of people, whether like this one that Paul made, or one of the many genealogy lists in the Bible, just skim it and move on.  “It’s just a list of names,” they might say.  “Nothing very interesting here.”  I confess I have done this in the past.

Our tendency is that we want action and drama.  Miracles, healings, interesting stories are what we typically look for. Jesus facing down the Pharisees; Moses parting the Red Sea; the earthquake that opened the cell door of Paul and Silas.  Lists of names don’t  really suit our interests, so we skim them or just skip them altogether.  But when we do that, we miss an important truth: life is not always action and adventure.  Most of the time, life is an interwoven fabric of ordinary people doing ordinary things.

Today, it seems, the focus is more on the “wow!” whether it be an event or a personality. Normal, steadfast, and faithful don’t garner a lot of attention.  Yet, when we think of the Body of Christ, that is the key to its functioning.  This is why I think Paul says that God gives greater honor to the lesser known and recognized parts (Acts 12:22-25), because our tendency is to laud the prominent ones.  I think it is significant that, like here in this passage,  we see individual names throughout the Scriptures with little or no comment about them.  The message I think is you don’t have to be famous or well known to be significant.  

In a culture that increasingly glorifies fame, and where more and more seek it, I find comfort in knowing my life can have significance just by being faithful to what the Lord has called me to do.  I don’t need to be well known or have people in awe of me.   Just going about my life, remaining faithful to what the Lord commands is enough.  And in doing so, I join with many others doing the same, and together, we make up the Body of Christ, all individual parts doing our best to bring glory to the Head, who is Jesus.  

Today, know the Lord honors any person or work, no matter how seemingly insignificant to the culture at large, that is faithful and glorifying to Him.  You don’t have to be famous to be significant.

© Jim Musser 2014