HAVE YOU SAVED THE WORLD TODAY?
If you were to survey the average man on the street with this
question, “Have you saved the world today?”, probably 99.9% would give
you the answer “no”, along with some pretty weird looks. After all,
how many of us have the kind of influence that allows our actions to
have widespread repercussions? Sure, each of us exercises a bit of
control over our own little corner of our world, but save the world?
Hardly.
But I would like to propose a thought, not to save the world but
to show just how much one average Christian can do without even
realizing what he or she is doing. When we are faced with a choice to
act or not act on something, we always know the results of our
actions, or inactions, as the case may be. But we can never know the
results of the alternative because we can’t do both, act and not act,
simultaneously.
If you’re totally confused by now, let me give an example. Let
me set a scenario that is part fact, part fiction and I think you will
be surprised at the implications.
The setting is in central Europe in the year 1905. It’s a
peaceful time there and everyone is quite happy and prosperous. Our
main character is a man we will call ‘Hans’ who is a born-again, on-
fire ‘Bible thumper’. Hans is known as the local Jesus freak,
although that term would have to wait a few decades to be applied.
This ‘Bible thumper’ would talk to anyone who would listen about
Jesus, God, sin, etc. You know the type – a real problem sometimes.
Well, one day Hans came across a young man about sixteen years
old and as usual started in about Jesus. The young man laughed at him
and went on his way. But a few days later Hans again met the young
man and again told him about Jesus’ love and saving grace. This time
the young man listened a little longer but left again, unsaved. This
went on for several weeks, until finally, the young man accepted Jesus
as his personal savior and became a baptized Christian.
Following his baptism, the young man joined a local church, sang
in the choir and became an active supporter of the church, even
becoming a deacon after a few years. He met a lovely girl, married,
had two sons and became a shopkeeper in the village where he worked
for forty five years. All the while, he was a devout Christian with a
faith that deepened each passing year. During these years, he led
many others to Christ, building up his treasures in Heaven. At the
ripe age of seventy five this man went to be with his Lord and Savior.
Big deal, you say; where’s the part about saving the world?
Well, here it is – suppose the young man that was saved had been named
Adolf Hitler! This Christian, Hans, would have single-handedly (with
God’s help) saved the lives of nearly twenty million people and untold
millions from suffering and misery. Hans impact on the world would
have been second only to that of Jesus Christ himself!
Nice story, huh? My point is this; would Hans have had any idea
of the import of his belief and faith? We all know the result of
there not being a ‘Hans’ at the time. Now, we may not save the world
from another Hitler, but we will never know until we fail to witness
our faith and then it’s too late. The person you lead to the cross
may not be a future mass murderer but what would his or her children
and grandchildren be if they grew up without Christian training? So
our actions can actually affect several generations and all the people
they interact with! So you see, we can never know just how much
impact we have on the future as well as the present. Maybe when we
get to heaven all this can be revealed in detail but for now, each and
every soul is important to God and even if it isn’t a future Hitler,
this person is loved by God and is important for that reason alone.
So next time you witness your faith to someone, remember ‘Hans’ and
what happened without him.
Submitted by Sheldon Crook
Computers for Christ – Chicago
