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I saw a sign that read, “You were created to make a difference.” What is your opinion of that message?
What does making a difference mean?
God did create us to make a difference! “You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light of the world. . . . Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16). But what does that look like?
Pastors and teachers are encouraged to “hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught” (Titus 1:9). Citizens are told to pay their taxes (Matthew 22:21). Husbands need to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and wives are to submit to their husbands as to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22-25). Parents are to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord, and children are to honor their parents (Ephesians 6:1-4). Workers should obey their bosses, and bosses should treat their employees fairly (Ephesians 6:5-8). And every Christian is to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19) and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9).
Jesus will praise the difference you make
God has not called us to do things he has not given us the opportunity to do. Instead, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). A quote often attributed to Martin Luther says: “The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
God gives us the abilities, the opportunities, and even the desire to do good works, and yet he still says he will praise those works on the Last Day! “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35,36).
Notice, Jesus does not say, “For you gave millions of dollars to the poor, and you started a charity, and you volunteered 40 hours a week at church.” No, he points to giving food, giving drink, helping the sick—acts of love and concern for others. This is what makes a difference!
God makes a difference through you
The truth is we cannot even dream of the difference God makes through our lives. “To him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20,21).
Johann Sebastian Bach inscribed many of his music manuscripts with the initials “INJ” (In Nomine Jesu, In Jesus’ Name) and “SDG” (Soli Deo Gloria, To God Alone be the Glory). What a beautiful summary of our lives! We awake each morning with the name of Jesus imprinted on us in our baptisms, and we live the day to God’s glory. We carry out the everyday callings of father, mother, worker, employer, child, Christian. At the end of the day, having washed us clean of every imperfection, Jesus looks at us and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23).
If that’s not making a difference, I don’t know what is!
Author: David Scharf
Volume 108, Number 1
Issue: January 2021
- Q&A: What would Jesus think about all the different Christian denominations?
- Q&A: Are there times when it is okay to lie?
- Q&A: What advice does the Bible have for single people?
- Q&A: How do I know I am elected by God?
- Q&A: Why is Pontius Pilate immortalized in our creeds?
- Q&A: How does remembering my baptism help with the guilt I carry?
- Q&A: Do parts of the Bible teach works righteousness?
- Q&A: How can I overcome my struggle with lust and pornography?
- Q&A: How should I help my child struggling with same-sex attraction?
- Q&A: Should Christians pray to saints?
- Q&A: Is anger sinful?
- Q&A: How can parents encourage adult children who wander from the faith?
- Q&A: Does the doxology belong in the Lord’s Prayer?
- Q&A: Is God fair?
- Q&A: When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” what are we praying for?
- Q&A: How can I better manage what God has given me this year so that I glorify him?
- Q&A: What are ways to glorify God besides singing in church?
- Q&A: I have no special gifts, and I mess up all the time. Does God really need me?
- Q&A: How do I overcome the feeling that my life has no purpose and I don’t make a difference?
- Q&A: My friend died and was not a professing Christian. What do I say to the family?
- Q&A: How can my mother and I forgive my father for being unfaithful and causing my parents to divorce?
- Q&A: Why were demon possession, gifts of healing, and gifts of tongues more prevalent in biblical times?
- Q&A: Is Christianity the only religion that gives the certainty of heaven?
- Q&A: If people go to hell, isn’t it their fault because God gave them free will and they rejected him?
- Q&A: Why are the 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension important for the disciples and for us?
- Q&A: Can you explain Jesus’ words to the wailing women he met on his way to be crucified?
- Q&A: What if spouses don’t “love” each other anymore?
- Q&A: Is it wrong to have a cross with Jesus’ body on it?
- Q&A: Is our time of grace really unchangeable?
- Q&A: I know that we are saved by grace apart from works, but how can it be that easy?
- Q&A: Are there degrees of glory in heaven as a reward for good works?
- Q&A: Do Lutherans take the Bible literally and teach millennialism?
- Q&A: Are there different interpretations of the Bible?
- Q&A: How can we be sure the Bible includes what God originally gave us?
- Q&A: Why does it seem like Christianity is so negative?
- Q&A: How can I explain how Jesus’ resurrection is possible and if the Bible is reliable?
- Q&A: Is it okay to live together if we are planning to get married?
- Q&A: How is the Bible God’s Word?
- Q&A: Were we “created to make a difference”?
- Q&A: Am I being judgmental if I point out someone’s sin?
- Q&A: Do I need to read the Bible to have a relationship with God?
- Q&A: Can a Christian vote for a political candidate who supports abortion?
- Q&A: Does God really care?
- Q&A: Does it really matter how God made the world?
- Q&A: Does God send people to hell?
- Q&A: Is death natural?
- Q&A: How can I forgive and forget?
- Q&A: Does God help those who help themselves?
- Q&A: How can we say that the Old Testament God is the same as the New Testament God?
- Q&A: Is Jesus the only way to get to heaven?
- Q&A: Doesn’t God want me to be happy?
- Light for our path: Does God hate us?
- Light for our path: What kind of comfort can you give someone when a loved one commits suicide?
- Light for our path: What does a submissive wife in a Christian marriage look like?
- Light for our path: Is it a sin to want to die from a terminal illness?
- Light for our path: What advice can you give about applauding in church?
- Light for our path: Can you please explain Matthew 5:20?
- Light for our path: What is karma?
- Light for our path: Can the devil personally be tempting me and a lot of other people at exactly the same time?
- Light for our path: Does the word Easter refer to Ishtar, the Babylonian fertility goddess?
- Light for our path: What role does emotion play in contrition?
- Light for our path: What does the white stone in Revelation 2:17 mean?
- Light for our path: Is the cross symbol now anti-Christian?
- Light for our path: Were Joseph and Mary engaged or married when Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy?
