CNNmoney.com has a 50 People Who Matter Now list—innovators who are changing the world we live in today and reshaping our tomorrow. They also have a 10 People Who Don’t Matter list—people whose power has already peaked, whose influence has waned, whose “best days are behind them.” 1 Hmmmm.
Barb and I just returned from our 25th college homecoming. Along with some great opportunities to reconnect with friends, we celebrated the 90th birthday of one of our beloved professors. Student after student stood and recounted key moments of this professor’s influence and how he had shaped their lives.
I caught myself thinking about some other professors who’d had very little impact on our lives, whose birthdays we hadn’t managed to remember. What was the difference? Finally it clicked. The ones we remember are the ones who invest themselves in people.
We’ve heard all the mantras, haven’t we! People first! Our people are our most valuable asset! Our people make the difference! People matter most! Yada, yada, yada. But every now and then someone comes along who really lives it. They pour themselves tirelessly into your life… and you can never forget them.
Aren’t you glad Jesus didn’t just invest Himself in those who made some CNNmoney.com list? The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. He expended Himself on sinners, lepers, outcasts, failures and misfits. Why? Because people matter.
So let’s be sure His passion is our passion—that our investments match His. Because at the end of the day, only people matter.