An Important Question

By Jim Faughn

The most important question that any person can ask himself or herself can actually be worded in a number of ways. Among those ways are:
Am I truly a Christian?
Am I saved?
Am I certain that I will spend eternity in heaven?

Absolutely nothing is more important than for each individual to be able to give a positive response to life’s most important question(s).

However, recent events in my life have caused me to wonder if there is another question that, while not the most important question, sure has become important to me. Maybe it will give you some “food for thought” as well.

The question has nothing to do with popularity, achievements, wealth, or any number of other things that are considered to be important by so many people. When you reach a point in your life when none of those things matter and none of them can help you, you may ask yourself (as I have done), “Have I made a difference?”

Interestingly, our Lord never told His followers, “Spend a lot of effort and come up with some exciting way to make sure you add spice to life.” Instead, He simply said, “You are the salt of the earth…” (Matt. 5:13). In our society, we take salt for granted, but we would miss it if it were not available. Would anybody miss you if you were not around? Neither did our Lord say, “The only way you can make a difference is to light up the sky with fireworks and neon signs.” Rather, He compared each of His followers to one single lamp or candle (cf. Matt. 5:15) that quietly and steadily does what it is designed to do. Its sphere of influence may not be huge, but it illuminates its immediate environment. I may not be able to do much to affect things on a global scale, but I can, as the old saying goes, “brighten the corner where I am.”

Many of us know, or know about, people who seemingly set out to make a huge difference and/or make a name for themselves. It is often the case that they make more of a mess than a difference.

The bottom line is that each true follower of God can do two things. He or she can give a positive answer to life’s most important question(s). He or she can also rest in this wonderful promise: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord…that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them” (Rev. 14:13).

- Jim Faughn serves as an elder and preacher for the Central church of Christ in Paducah KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org

- Jim Faughn serves as an elder and preacher for the Central church of Christ in Paducah KY. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org