As I drove through Shelby the other day, I had to chuckle a bit when I noticed a yard sign on a vacant corner near the hospital. The sign read, “No Yard Signs Without Permission.” It hit me as funny to use a yard sign to prohibit yard signs. Even so, that sign did what it was supposed to do, viz. it made me look at what the owner deemed important! Which is the heart of the word “significance.”
The English word, “significance,” is based on a Latin root that means to “indicate” or to declare that something is “worthy of attention.” At the base of the word is the word “sign.” What does a “sign” do? It says to all who see it, “this is important!” So, when we use the word “significance” we are bearing testimony to the truth in our lives that we have found that which is worthy of our attention because it indicates that which is important in our lives!
This week I read the “MissionInsite” report that is available to us through the North Carolina State Baptist Convention. This report details various areas of demographic information about the people who live within a five-mile radius of Poplar Springs Baptist Church. The issue that stood out most to me was the question of “significance.” More specifically and importantly, the significance of the role of religious faith in the lives of our neighbors who live closest to our church building. When asked about this measurement, our neighbors responded in these ways:
15.5 % — faith is of UTMOST significance in my life
16.3 % — faith is of CONSIDERABLE significance in my life
18.9 % — faith is of MODERATE significance in my life
17 % — faith is of MINOR significance in my life
32 % — faith is NOT SIGNIFICANT in my life
And there it is! One-third of our Cleveland County neighbors would say that faith has no significance in their lives (a number that has been increasing since 2017 while the percentage who say faith is of utmost significance has been decreasing since 2017). Suddenly Jesus’ words that the “fields are white unto harvest” begin ringing in our ears.
All this being so, we Christ Followers in Cleveland County are called to remember that Jesus talked about “significance” one day as he visited the home of his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. While Martha was all torn up with the details of hosting Jesus and his disciples, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and soaked up all that he had to say. Jesus’ word that day has to live in our memories when considering what is “significant” in life. He made it clear that of all there is to do in this life, “There is only ONE thing that is necessary and Mary has chosen it.” (Luke 10:42) We can’t stress this verse enough! ONE thing is necessary, significant, and important, viz. being with Jesus, learning from Jesus, and conforming to the image of Jesus.
As it was said of those early disciples in the Book of Acts, so is the “sign” that we plant in the yards where we live our lives, “those folks have been with Jesus!” (Acts 4:13) When our time with Jesus IS the measure of “significance” for us, we become the “signs” that point our neighbors to our Lord. Thank you, Poplar Springs Baptist Church family, for your intentional walk of faith to encourage one another in this journey of significance as you pray for one another, study together in Sunday School and on Wednesdays, lift your hearts in worship each week, and give yourselves to focus on the Lord before you head out to work and all along the way!
In the Love of Jesus,
Tony Tench