What Does Success Mean to You?

A friend recently posted a poem that really caused me to ask myself, “What does success mean to me?” In our culture we often base success on our accomplishments, our bank account, or the “things” we’ve accumulated.

Do these really reflect your success…are they the fruit of Your Refreshed Life?

Ralph Waldo Emerson, a poet who lived in the 1800’s, captures a definition of success that reaches beyond our daily pursuits and touches something within each of us. He writes:

“To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you lived.
This is to have succeeded.”

Are you succeeding in life? Jesus offers an even more compelling measure of success for His followers by living a life of compassion, strength, caring, peace, and love. He spoke the language, represented the culture, and demonstrated the character traits of those who are citizens of His Kingdom in heaven. By His coming here, it is as though a foreign exchange student arrived in our country and lived a life that explained, “This is what life in my country is like.”

What would our success look like if we did the same? What if we saw ourselves as exchange students from Heaven coming to our world to represent the King of our country and Lord of our lives?

We are told, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Phil. 3:20)

And, “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone.”

How would our world change today if all who call themselves Christ-followers sought to live the life He lived among us (by His Spirit’s power living within us) and demonstrated His character and lifestyle to our world?

Now, that sounds like success to me! Will you join me in this pursuit? It will take a lifetime to grow in it, but what an exciting life it will be!