A Life That Matters: Making the Greatest Possible Difference with the Rest of Your Life

by Ron Hutchcraft

Overview

The choice to live an ordinary life is no longer an option! Greatness-lasting greatness-is a desire built into every human heart. For the believer in Christ, it is not only possible, but expected. How will your life matter? God wants your life to count for eternity. He wants you to join the team of rescuers He is sending into a desperate world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575674544
Publisher:	Moody Publishers
Publication date:	10/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	306 KB

About the Author

RON HUTCHCRAFT is a veteran of youth and family work, president of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries and a visiting faculty member for the Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism. He is the author of several books, including The Battle for a Generation, A Life That Matters, and Called to Greatness. Ron is the host of the popular radio broadcasts A Word With You and Call To Greatness. He and Karen, his wife, are the parents of three adult children and reside in Harrison, Arkansas.

Read an Excerpt

A Life That Matters

Making the Greatest Possible Difference With the Rest of Your Life

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By Ron Hutchcraft

Moody Publishers

Copyright © 2007 Ron Hutchcraft
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-57567-454-4

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CHAPTER 1

Out of the Holding Pattern

"Those who lead many to righteousness (will shine) like the stars for ever and ever."

Daniel 12:3

I thought I had seen the scenery below me before. The pilot soon confirmed my suspicion: our flight had been placed in a holding pattern. That meant we were no longer making any forward progress; we were just continuing to circle the ground we had covered before.

You can get tired of being in a holding pattern really fast. Especially if it's your life that seems to be in a holding pattern. Like a circling aircraft, your life does not seem to be standing still. There is plenty of activity around you. It's just that you aren't really going anywhere. Spiritually, the ground looks all too familiar. And your soul wants more. That's because you were designed for more—much more.

King Solomon revealed that "more" in his personal "diary," the book of Ecclesiastes. In a penetrating insight, Solomon noted that God "has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). You and I have eternity in our hearts. There is a dimension of you that cannot be fulfilled by anything that will end. You have an appetite from God for that which you can never lose, that which will last forever. Anything else is just too small.

So a life that is filled mostly with earth-stuff and earth-pursuits is going to be ultimately unsatisfying. Your "small world" restlessness may be your heart's warning sign that you have an "eternity deficit," a deficit God is ready and waiting to satisfy. He is waiting to give you a passion you can pursue on earth that will fill you with the excitement of eternality. It is, in fact, the passion which Jesus pursued all the way to the cross.

The Restless Ones

God has made you restless for more because He wants to eternalize your life—to make it count for that which will last forever. And you will never be satisfied with less. So much won't last forever. Your job accomplishments, your home, your bank account, your sports, your "stuff"—none of it will last forever. Our days just fill up with a lot that is un-eternal and, therefore, unfulfilling. And even our discretionary time tends to fill up with trivial pursuits—a numbing bombardment of small talk, the mental "junk food" of TV, innumerable hours of sporting events, entertainment, or being lost in cyberspace.

But amidst all the demands and distractions of the un-eternal, there is this quiet but relentless voice crying out, "Give me more; give me something that matters ... something that will matter forever."

And the number of the "restless ones" seems to be growing steadily. Everywhere I go, I meet men and women and young people who answer an eager "yes!" when I ask this question, "Do you ever feel a stirring inside that is saying something like this: I want to make a greater difference with the rest of my life than I have made until now"?

That passion to make a greater difference with the rest of your life comes from the One who gave you your life ... who gave His life for you! And only He can satisfy that desire to make a difference. And He will—if you will follow Him into the very eternal pursuit He has made you restless for.

Called to Something Bigger

Some people have a very long memory. Then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin sure did in 1991 during the first Gulf War. I heard a report of a press conference he held during the time that Iraq was firing Scud missiles into Israel. Most of us who followed the news at that time will never forget the eerie sights of Israeli civilians donning their gas masks at the first sound of a missile alarm.

The (first) George Bush was the president of the United States, and he had asked Israel not to escalate the situation by retaliating against Iraq. At the press conference, a reporter asked Prime Minister Rabin how he felt about the president's request. He paused for a moment, and then with a twinkle in his eye responded, "The last time the Jews listened to a talking bush, we wandered in the wilderness for forty years!"

Actually, the last time there was a talking bush (the one time there was a talking bush), the Jews were soon after liberated from four centuries of Egyptian slavery during the exodus. The story of Moses's encounter with the Most High at a burning bush is one of the most dramatic moments in biblical history—and a powerful example of how God takes a person from a "small, small world" to a life bigger than he ever dreamed. It is, in many ways, an encounter that God has reenacted with countless believers throughout history. It is an encounter He may have been preparing you for with your hungry heart. If you are restless to make a greater difference with the rest of your life, then the story of Moses at the burning bush may satisfy your hunger and light your way.

The Bible raises the curtain on this life-changing day by telling us that "Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law ... and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up" (Exodus 3:1–2).

With his never-a-vacation responsibilities for the family flock and his family's needs, Moses probably had a full life—but probably not a fulfilling one. He lived in a small, small world. It was safe ... it was comfortable ... but it was small. And this day was supposed to be just another day of "more of the same."

Until God showed up and summoned him by name. "When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' And Moses said, 'Here I am'" (verse 4). Moses had no way of knowing that God was about to blow the lid off his life!

God is still in the life-enlargement business. He comes to people who may, like Moses, have a life full of responsibilities—and a life that is pretty much set on cruise control. Most of us have our career niches, our beliefs are settled, our relationships are staked out; we even have that spot in church where we always sit.

But it's not enough. You have too much "eternity in your heart." The status quo is not satisfying your need for lasting significance. You need something bigger to capture your heart and give greater meaning to the years you have left.

So God comes to you and, somewhere deep in your heart, He summons you by name. You know He wants you—not just someone, but you—for a larger destiny. Like Moses, the Lord God is inviting you to join Him in a powerful mission. He is about to eternalize your life as never before. And you are about to find what your heart has been hungering for.

The Making of a Hero

We expect the president of the United States to introduce us to some heroes every year as he delivers his annual State of the Union address to the combined houses of Congress. You can count on it. Several times during his speech, the president will allude to some everyday hero who embodies a point he is making. He drives the point home by having that hero seated in the balcony of the House chamber where he or she is introduced for what is usually a standing ovation.

Behind the scenes, reporters ask presidential aides who the "Skutniks" will be this year. It is a reference to the first such everyday hero, Lenny Skutnik, who was introduced by an American president. Ronald Reagan was president and Lenny Skutnik was just one of thousands of federal workers in Washington, D.C.—until the day Air Florida's flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River.

It was a cold January evening in 1982 when the plane, taking off with passengers headed for sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida, developed ice on its wings and in its engine—enough to bring the plane down as it tried to clear Washington's 14th Street Bridge. Suddenly, the jet struck the bridge and then fell into the frigid waters of the Potomac. Some passengers managed to get out before the plane sank, and they cried for help as they tried to stay afloat in the icy river.

Lenny Skutnik had just left work, and he was walking nearby. He saw the plane go down, heard the cries of the passengers in the water, and jumped into the river to try to help. Fighting the current and the cold, he managed to save the life of a woman who otherwise would have almost surely died in the Potomac that night. A couple of weeks later, everyday-guy Lenny Skutnik was introduced as a real American hero on national television by the president of the United States.

Called to Be a Rescuer

In a few moments of courage and self-sacrifice, Lenny Skutnik became something that suddenly gave his life dramatically greater significance. He became a rescuer.

That is what God summoned Moses to be.

It is what He is summoning you to be. The day God announced Moses would be a hero—a rescuer—He said, "'I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out ... and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them'" (Exodus 3:7–8). God, the great Rescuer, the ultimate Deliverer, used Moses to rescue His people. God hears the cries of enslaved and hurting people. That is why He sent Moses to the Jews. It is why He sent His "one and only Son" (John 3:16) to a world He so loves, to sin-slaves like us who were "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).

I can imagine Moses's reaction as he heard that God was going to "come down to rescue" His suffering people: "Yes! That's awesome! These people aren't going to make it without a rescuer. I'm so glad You're going to change things, Lord!" And then came those shocking words that would change Moses's life forever: "So now, go. I am sending you "(Exodus 3:10, italics added). Suddenly, Moses's excited "Hooray!" turned to a stunned "Uh-oh."

God was planning an incredible rescue mission, and He was summoning Moses to join Him in it. The Lord was asking Moses to do what an everyday guy named Lenny did by the Potomac River the day of that awful crash—to hear the cries of dying people, abandon personal safety, and rescue people who would die if he stayed where he was.

Can you see the sobering picture of the crossroads at which you are standing? The Lord has heard the cries of people around you who are trying to make life work without a Savior. He has seen their lostness. He has felt their pain and the pain of their families. He knows their incurable loneliness, their quiet desperation, the awful eternity awaiting them—and He has come down to rescue them. But God will rescue the people in your personal world through a personal representative— through His "Moses." That is you, and that is me. We are the rescuers God sends into a hurting, desperate world.

All the stirring in your soul for something bigger, something more, may have been to prepare you for the summons of God to join Him in His rescue mission for the spiritually dying people around you. He is summoning you to be His rescuer!

Understandably, your reaction might be similar to Moses's reaction on the day he was summoned to significance. "Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go?'"(Exodus 3:11). Fear ... insecurity ... inadequacy—a sense that you're not the person for a mission this big. Feel familiar?

But the Lord blew away all Moses's excuses and objections when He responded, "Who gave man his mouth? ... Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say" (Exodus 4:11–12). Or, to summarize the conversation:

Moses: Who am I, Lord?

God: That's not the question. Who am I, Moses?

This summons from God to join Him in His eternal rescue mission is not about who you are; it's about who God is and that He promises you as He promised Moses, "I will be with you" (Exodus 3:12). By yourself, you are inadequate to help someone get to heaven, to help someone you care about put his or her hand into the hand of Jesus. It is God's power that gives otherwise inadequate people supernatural resources to accomplish great things for Him.

The Lord of the universe stands ready to direct your life and give it significance, a sense of fulfillment beyond anything you have ever experienced. Your heart has got eternity in it ... and you will not be fulfilled until you know your life matters. Remember, there is no greater difference a person can make than to help someone else be in heaven for all eternity.

The Lord summons you and me to step up and be His rescuers for people He died for. Those people in harm's way don't understand that yet; they need you to tell them and show them. In the pages ahead, the how of being a spiritual rescuer will become clear and doable. But first comes the who. It is you. It is I. It is everyone who has been delivered by a loving God.

God's plaintive question has not changed since the days of the prophet Isaiah: "Who will go?" (Isaiah 6:8).

Deep down in your restless heart, can you hear Him summoning you by name? He has heard the cries of the dying people near you. Listen to His call:

"So now, go ... I am sending you."

GOING DEEPER ...

* Draw, and then explain, a representative picture entitled "My Restlessness."

* If all of life can be basically boiled down to two lists: "The Things That Really Matter" and "The Things That Really Don't Matter," what are some things you used to have on one list and now have moved to the other?

* Some of the most fulfilling times in my life have been when ...

* Those times tell us that what we're restless for probably includes ...

* In Exodus 3, God said He had seen and heard the hurt and lostness of the lives of His people. When it comes to the lost people in my personal world, He must see and hear ...

* If the Lord is saying to me, "I am coming down to rescue them, and I am sending you," what I want to say to Him is ...

CHAPTER 2

Your Personal Titanic

"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter."

Proverbs 24:11

Titanic. It was a blockbuster movie, an award-winning Broadway show, the subject of best-selling books—and one dramatic, tragic night in history that has intrigued generation after generation.

After all we have heard and seen about the sinking of the "unsinkable" ship, there is still something hauntingly magnetic about her story. In the early twentieth century, the RMS Titanic was the crowning achievement of human technology—and yet an iceberg in the north Atlantic Ocean sent her to the bottom in two hours. There may never have been one vessel that carried more of the world's wealthiest and most powerful at one time. Yet the wealth and power were rendered meaningless in a moment by six small gashes in Titanic's massive hull.

For the seven hundred survivors—more than fifteen hundred passengers and crew died—the images of that horrific April night in the North Atlantic are unforgettable. The brightly lit ocean liner sinking lower and lower ... the futile flares exploding in the sky above the doomed vessel ... the ship's last agonizing moments with her bow pointing upward, then sliding beneath the water ... and the sudden near silence as the ocean erased the Titanic from her icy surface.

Moviegoers and book readers will remember those images. But of all the mental pictures of what author Walter Lord called A Night to Remember, none is more unsettling to me than what happened after the Titanic disappeared below the surface. The survivor accounts of that night tell us that there were only twenty lifeboats aboard–about half the number required to fully evacuate the ship. Mostof them were only partially full; some were actually half-empty! As the Titanic was sinking, many passengers were able to put on a life jacket, but they could not find an available lifeboat. They jumped or fell into the ocean, left floating in the frigid waters, crying into the night for help.

Again, there was room in the lifeboats for hundreds of them! That is why their fate is perhaps the most shocking human tragedy of that heartrending night when fifteen hundred people died. As those in the water continued to cry out for someone to rescue them, the people in the lifeboats just kept rowing away. They thought rescue was too risky. So out of those twenty lifeboats, only one finally turned back, in time to save only six passengers.

Three days later when the funeral ships arrived from Nova Scotia, they were greeted by a ghostly sight: 328 life-jacketed men, women, and children, floating in the water, frozen to death. And why did they die? Not because the Titanic sank, but because the people who were already saved would not go back to rescue others.

The Jesus Lifeboat

That image cuts through my soul like cold steel. Could this be a spiritual picture of us: the people who are already saved doing nothing about the dying people all around us? By God's grace we are in the Jesus lifeboat, saved and headed for heaven. But all around us—where we work, where we live, where we shop or go to school— are people who will die spiritually unless someone rescues them. Some of them are people you know, people you love, people within your reach.

In a sense, God has placed us close to these spiritually lost and dying people so we might man the lifeboats that give them hope of being rescued. Will we turn our lifeboats around? Will we take the risks to give them a chance to live—forever? The alternative is to just keep rowing—and let them die.

Tragically, too many Christians are content to just enjoy their own safe place in Jesus' lifeboat. We fellowship with our lifeboat comrades, sing our lifeboat songs, and even work on ways to make our lifeboats bigger and more comfortable. Meanwhile, people we see day after day are drowning spiritually, with no understanding that God's one and only Son died so they don't have to.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Life That Matters by Ron Hutchcraft. Copyright © 2007 Ron Hutchcraft. Excerpted by permission of Moody Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

CONTENTS

    Introduction: "A Life That Matters"  / 8

1. Out of the Holding Pattern  / 15

2. Your Personal Titanic  / 22

3. Your Clever Disguise  / 34

4. Getting into the Lives that Need You So Much  / 44

5. Breaking the Silence  / 57

6. Would You Like to Supersize That?  / 75

7. Thinking Lost  / 84

8. Beyond "Christianese"  / 98

9. Confidently Communicating Christ  / 108

10. The Story Only You Can Tell  / 121

11. "No Greater Honor"  / 132

12. A Road Map for Rescuers  / 144

13. Lifesaving Jesus' Way  / 153

14. Removing the Roadblocks  / 162

15. Eternity 9-1-1  / 175

      Epilogue: Turning the Lifeboats Around  / 186
      Notes  / 190
      Resources to Assist You  / 192

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Anybody who has been on the receiving end of Ron Hutchcraft's ministry knows the impact of both his life and his words.  In A Life That Matters he nags at our conscience on more time.  This time about something very close to the heart of Jesus...compassion in action.  You need to read this book!
-Joseph M. Stowell, Teaching Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel and Former President, Moody Bible Institute

A Life That Matters may be the best evangelism-training manual I have ever seen!  Ron gives us the rich distillation of his years doing it in the trenches.  His insights are fresh, compelling, liberating, motivating, empowering...in other words, priceless.  In an easy-to-apply, easy-to-pass-along approach, Ron has anticipated my major questions, my greatest fears and my deepest longings.  No question about it: He's given me A LOT to pray about, and to expect God to do through me!
-David Bryant, Founder and President, Concert of Prayer International

This book is excellent, inspiring, captivating, and full of practical and godly wisdom.  It is an outstanding guidebook for Christians seeking God's high calling for their lives—reaching the lost, for whom Christ died.
-Steve Douglass, President, Campus Crusade for Christ International

In A Life That Matters, Ron Hutchcraft is sharing the passion of his heart, becoming a spiritual lifeline.  Christ has called us all to be witnesses; Ron understands this and shares it in his book.  With over ninety percent of our population believing in a god of some sort, God is calling His church today to become lifelines to those in need.  There is no greater calling than pitching the saving truth of Jesus Christ to others.  Ron Hutchcraft shows how one can rise to the greatest calling and do this with ease.  Anyone reading this book will not only understand how to share the greatest story of all but also how to do it in such a way that fear is lessened, and the desire to do so is enhanced.
-Tom Phillips, Vice President of Crusades and Training, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

It's about time!  With passion and practicality, Ron Hutchcraft puts the cookies on the bottom shelf to help us draw those without Christ into a relationship with Him.  This book breaks down emotional barriers so that new believers can truly "taste and see that the Lord is good."
-June Hunt, Founder, Hope for the Heart Ministry

In Ron Hutchcraft's book A Life That Matters, he continually magnifies the grace, mercy, and loving provision of our heavenly Father for our daily needs.  There are numerous reminders that the lives of Christians do have divine purpose, order, and direction.  We live in faith and obedience by the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  Under this guidance comes the biblical truth that all of us can rise above the daily challenges to experience hope and fulfill the purpose for which our Lord placed on the earth!  We can both experience the abundant life Jesus Christ gives, and we can proclaim the availability of this eternal life to those desiring a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
-Richard H. Harris, Vice President of Church plannting, North American Mission Board

Ron Hutchcraft has done it again.  He is one of the finest Christian communitcators of our day.  I believe that every Christian who wants to be used of God to the max will be encouraged and helped greatly by this remarkable book.
-Paul Cedar, Chairman and CEO, Mission America Coalition