Significance and Integrity

Last weekend I had the joy of working a young adult Chrysalis journey at Camp Sumatanga. I had an even greater joy of sponsoring three of my very good friends to come on the journey. It was an amazing weekend filled with so much agape love that it was hard to take it all in. I love serving on a Chrysalis because I get to use all of my gifts to love people. I came home on Sunday on such a "Jesus high," and I never wanted it to go away.

Unfortunately, the world intruded much sooner than I expected when my mom told me that her uncle had passed away over the weekend. Even though he was 89 years old and has been pretty sick for a long time, the passing of a loved one is never easy to take. And Uncle Bob was certainly loved, by my family and many others. If you want to read his obituary, go here. Chances are you won't read it all the way because it's so darn long! You see, my Uncle Bob was an amazing person. At his funeral there were many people that spoke of his military service, his long career in the US Social Security System (he was the Deputy Commissioner, the highest non-elected office in Social Security), and the numerous awards he received for all kinds of things. A colleague of his said that he was a "true American." He was an extreme volunteer; there is even an award that bears his name (from the UAB Center for Aging). But to me, the highest praise was when his stepson, Tim, got up and talked about Bob's love for his stepchildren and grandchildren, people who weren't related to him by blood but that he loved with his whole heart. He was known to stand up in the middle of a meeting or church service and loudly proclaim that he had the best grandchildren in the world! He loved God, and he showered that love on every person he met. Tim put into words what the rest of us couldn't; Uncle Bob was "successful" in every sense of the word, but that wasn't the whole story. Bob Bynum wasn't just successful, he was significant. He touched every life he came into contact with in a positive, lasting way.

As I reflected on Uncle Bob's story over the course of this week, I wondered how I could change my focus from living a "successful" life to living a "significant" life. In the small group that I attend every Thursday night, we learned that God calls every person to His mission, to share the love of Jesus Christ. In order to do that, I will need the integrity of a follower of Christ. To have integrity I have to know who I am, what I stand for, and what I have to do to fulfill my mission. That is how I can live a significant life. That is one thing that can change a story of ambition, prestige, and greed into a story of love, friendship and grace like my Uncle Bob's.

Isn't it amazing when God answers your questions even when you don't ask them out loud?