Mid-life achievements?

I really benefit from preparing talks for church; way more than you benefit from trying to make sense of them.Ahaz, from Isaiah 7, has really gotten me thinking. Here is a guy, probably doing his best, or what he thinks is best. Doing deals to keep the nation together. But God says, through Isaiah, "Your plans are stupid, they won't work and they are completely unnecessary". How's that for an epitaph? "Your contribution to gross national wellbeing, oh King, was worse than useless!"Makes me wonder, what have I achieved this week ? Sure, I've done a lot of stuff but what have I achieved?Many men define their lives by their achievements. Many men have to be doing something to have that sense of achievement. Our significance is directly proportionate to what we have achieved. Woe betide us if we stuff up! Perhaps men suffer from mid-life crises more than women for this reason. A time of mid-life comes when we ask, "What do I and my achievements add up to?"I ask myself that question often. Jesus says the greatest achievement is to love God and each other. Where do my achievements fit in to that? How can I turn that into a measurable outcome? Men, I think that is a really important question for us!Jesus' definition of achievement is relational. Sure, do the project that has an outcome but what are the "love God" and "love other people" KPIs? They are what really matters when we assess our achievements.In the Adventure of Mid-life Malcolm