Many of you know that right now Tiffany and I are in the midst of selling our house and looking for a new home.  We find ourselves asking questions almost everyday.  Questions like, “how many showings will we get?”, “when will someone make an offer?”, “will they like our house?”, “will we get what we are asking?”.  I am grateful to say that we have received a couple offers on our house and we have accepted one of them.  PRAISE GOD!  Seven days later and we’ve got ourselves a buyer.  That’s unheard of, but not when God is in the midst of it!

But now that we are through that hurdle we find ourselves looking at a different set of hurdles.  We have rounded the bend in the track and in front of us yet more hurdles.  We are asking even more questions, like, “where should we live?”, “what is that area like?”, “can we make that into something we can live in?”, “what can we afford?”.  It seems to me that most of our questions are based around the core idea of VALUE.  Monetary value, yes, but  not just that.  The questions that we are asking are centered around the value that this decision will add or detract in our future, and the future of our family.

Value is something that we deal with everyday.  I drive past probably 50-60 gas stations on my commute to work and each one has a slightly different value on the gallon of gas.  In the morning we value our cup of coffee so much so that some of us will not speak with our spouse until we have tasted the sweet caffeinated nectar.  Value shows up in almost every decision that we make.

We deal with value every single day.  We evaluate values every single day.  We will look at a product or a service and determine if we are willing to pay the value that is set on it.  It controls our spending and the use of our time, etc.  Yet, how often do we honestly evaluate the value that our own life is adding to our world?

Our lives are significant and valuable.  However, they can be used to do one of two things; add value to life, or detract value.  Our lives when lived in mission with Christ should add value to the lives of those around us.

So this leaves me wondering… Am I adding value to the lives of those around me?  This means the waitress that serves me lunch, the security guy who stands in the lobby of the building, the parking attendant, the lawyer who rides the elevator with me, my neighbor who is always interested in what I’m doing outside, and all of those other people whose lives intersect with mine.

How can I breathe value into their life?  Better yet, how can I help them see the value that they have in the eyes of their creator?  What about you?  Are you adding value to the lives around you?  

~Peter