How we invest our lives is telling

It's always a pleasure to welcome Paul Gill to preach and lead worship at St Philips. Paul's gritty, down to earth truth telling not only typifies his life and work, it also pulls me up short and challenges me to live what I say I believe.  Living what you believe is the hardest thing to do. The things I do say much more about what I really  believe than I'd like to admit.Cheryl, Georgia and I are in Melbourne. Georgia is doing a gap year course called A Year in the Son. It's a Christian youth discipleship experience in which the young adults are welcome and encouraged to question pretty much everything in a safe supportive environment. The process seeks to allow them to decide what they believe for themselves and to own that rather than something inherited from church, Mum and Dad or their mates. This is Georgia's idea and we are supporting her in it. We see it as God's "path of blessing" for her at this time, much like Elle's year in the UK was for her.How we invest our lives is telling. I'm thinking a lot a out the move from success to significance. I am approaching 50 and have done some interesting things in life so far but what do I want the second half to add up to? I'm less interested in success and more interested in investing my life in ways that enhance others and their quests and contributions - I call this significance.Georgia is staying in Melbourne with Rowan and Kirily and their 3 small children. Interestingly Rowan lived with us when he was Georgia's age and we were tired and poor and we had three small children. Rowan developed and oversees the Year in the Son programme that Georgia is doing. When he was in a Youth Group with me we did all sorts of quirky, life experience things. We would stop at Maccas on the way home from our youth activities and discuss where God was in it all.Rowan now does those things with the Year in the Son students. The course he runs has influenced hundreds of young people for good and kept them growing in faith - that's significant.As you consider your place in God's world, the time for success might be behind you but what about significance? I look at Paul and see how this man of small stature is so significant to so many. Maybe Paul is a bit "high bar" for you. As I look at the people of St Phils I see investment in significance everywhere. One of the most inspiring examples of significance in action to me is Robert Churchill. I find Robert just amazing. Get to know him - if you'd like to know why I find him a great example of investing his life in significance please feel free to ask. Please encourage each other with stories of people who model significance in the second half of life - it is inspiring.Love and blessingsMalcolmP.S. I will be back next Saturday and Cheryl is back on 20th.