In college, I was a nobody. My name was just another line on a student roll. My smile was just another grin in the crowd.
I knew very few people and very few people knew me. But that was OK. The move from high school to college brought some space into my life, and I welcomed it.
My last two years in high school were heavily invested in leadership activities. In the private school I attended, I was involved in both sports leadership and student body leadership. My life was in the spotlight. Spotlights bring pressure. At graduation, it was nice to step off of the stage of prominence and into the anonymity of college life.
On the college campus, I was invisible. My name was not on any sports or "outstanding student" rosters. My photo was not going to take up much space in the yearbooks. I was a just another student in search of good grades and an occupation that I could enjoy for years to come.
Some people long to disappear so they will not have any accountability. They want to be unknown so their actions will be unknown. That was not me. I just wanted off the stage.
Looking back, I ponder why this transition was not more difficult. It was a big change. I went from popularity to anonymity as soon as high-school graduation was over… and it was fine with me.
How could it be fine? How come I did not have to struggle with a longing for the recognition I once had? How could it ever be acceptable to be a nobody?
I believe that the answer lies in the idea of significance. And it lies in the concept of relationship.
Whether or not a person is ever involved in leadership… Regardless of whether or not they ever gain popularity… or a spot on the starting five… or a plaque in the hallway… that person can have significance. All humans have the potential to live a life full of meaning. There is no one who is excluded from the ability to have significance.
When I consider my transition from popularity to anonymity, I see that I had the security of significance. Not because I had done anything great. Not due to any "inherent goodness" that I possessed as a member of the human race. Not because I deserved it. I have significance because the One who created me has blessed me with a gift.
God gives meaning to life. It is a gift to those of us who are not so great. It is a blessing to us who know better than to think that we are "inherently good." It is a favor that is undeserved. And it is for everyone.
I am loved by the One who made the Universe. I am cherished by the One who knows every skeleton in my closet. I have been picked to be on the team of the One who has seen my every failure. I have been made good by the One who knows how bad I have been… and how much I will mess up in the future.
I am loved. My life has significance. It has meaning, and that meaning is found in my relationship with God.
Have you ever seen a married couple that intrigued you? You look at her. You look at him. And you wonder what she ever saw in him. She is beautiful and smart. She is so good! He is… well…not. Take the unlikelihood of that relationship and raise it to infinity. That is how far above our beauty, our intelligence, and our goodness God is. And yet He wants to partner with us! He wants us in His family!
He wants it so much for us to be His children that He gave His own son Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sin and wrongdoing that offends His perfect and holy character. He did this so that we can come clean before Him and be His sons and daughters and walk in close relationship with Him.
He will never walk out on you. He will never leave you for someone better. He will never abuse you. His love will never fail. It does not depend on your popularity. It is not earned by your sports stats. It does not hinge on your grade ranking or job assessment. No matter what happens…. or does not happen, you can know this: You are loved.
I guess that's it! That is why the transition from being a "somebody" to being a "nobody" was so smooth. It never really happened!
In the eyes of the One who really matters, I never stopped being "somebody!" I was not loved any less because I was less known. My life was not drained of meaning simply because my face was not recognized by other students. My existence was not robbed of value when my name was robbed of popularity. I still had significance. I still had a wonderful relationship.
To God, I was… and still am… somebody.
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