In the mid-1970s, Ed Roberts created the world's first commercially successful personal computer (PC). He hired a 19-year-old named Bill Gates to write software for him.

Roberts sold his computer business in 1977 and bought a farm. Seven years later, at the age of 41, he entered medical school. Today Bill Gates is the head of the largest software company in the world. Ed Roberts is a physician in a small Georgia town.

Roberts says, "The implication is that the PC is the most important thing I've ever done, and I don't think that's true. Every day I deal with things that are equally if not more important here with my patients."

How can we evaluate the significance of our lives? Something deep inside tells us that such a thing cannot be measured by wealth and fame.

As we look at the apostle Paul's turbulent life, it seems noteworthy that he approached the end with a peaceful sense of successful completion. He wrote, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). Paul looked confidently not to the world but to "the Lord, the righteous Judge," for approval and reward (v.8).

How do you measure the significance of your life? Only God can tell you what matters most.  — David C. McCasland