No doubt about it - there are many people who are concerned with "success"...in our heart of hearts, we all are! As I told a dear friend the other day, "we all look at numbers as ONE indicator of faithfulness"...but as I also told him, there is a BIG difference between numerical success and fruitfulness. That's why I like this quote - Henri Nouwen writes in a devotional titled “fruits that grow in vulnerability”:
“there is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. success comes from strength, control and respectability. a successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over it’s development and make it available in large quantities. success brings many rewards and often fame. fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. and fruits are unique. a child is conceived in vulnerability. community is the fruit born through shared brokenness. and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one an others wounds. let’s remind one another that what brings us joy is not success, but fruitfulness.”
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