So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

They’ve been called The Passion Generation.  They’re young adults between the ages of 25 and 40, known as Millennials, and they have many traits their elders find baffling.  Admirably, however, millennial young adults want to change the world, to do good, not just gain wealth for themselves, but meaningfully contribute to something that matters.

These ambitions have the potential to be gospel work. Jesus told his followers, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Giving your time, energy and resources for the sake of others is love. It can also be personally rewarding and meaningful to know that you’ve made a difference. Yet what about the seasons of our lives when we have nothing to give?

A sense of mattering, of personal significance, shouldn’t be our idol any more than wealth may have been. Ultimately our worth comes from God alone.  It is in Jesus Christ, not in anything we do, even truly meaningful work for the sake of others. Jesus would probably answer “worth seekers” the same way he answered a lover of money in the Bible book of Mark. First, “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21). Then Jesus challenged the young man to let go of his own ambitions and follow Him alone.

Go forth today and do good and meaningful things. At the same time, know that if you simply follow Jesus in obedience to Him, you’ve already “made it.”

Resource reading: Mark 10:17-31