We may never know the difference we make in the lives of those around us until we get to heaven.
Author/speaker Tony Campolo told the following story to illustrate the importance of being faithful.
One night at a small church in Atlanta, Georgia, a man told how he had become a Christian while in Sydney, Australia.
“I was at the street corner in Kings Cross,” he said, “when I felt a tug on my sleeve.
Turning, I found myself face to face with a street bum.Before I could say anything, he asked me, ‘Mister, if you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?’
“That question troubled me over the next three weeks and I ended up giving my life to Christ.”
The pastor of the Atlanta church was amazed that a man on a street corner could have such an impact.
Then, three years later, another man came to his church and gave an almost identical testimony.
He, too, had been at Kings Cross in Sydney when a street bum asked him, “If you were to die tonight, where would you spend eternity?”
This second man, also haunted by the bum’s question, eventually sought and found the answer in Jesus.
A short time later, the pastor of that small church in Atlanta had to be in Sydney for a missions conference.
On one of his nights off, he went to Kings Cross to see if he could find the man who had been mentioned at his church by two different people.
He stopped at the street corner to look for someone like the street bum when he felt a tug at his jacket.
He turned, and before the bum could say anything, the pastor blurted out, “I know what you’re going to ask me!
You’re going to ask if I were to die tonight, where would I spend eternity?”
“How did you know that?” the bum asked, stunned.
The pastor told him the whole story. When he finished, the bum started to cry.
“Mister,” he said, “ten years ago I gave my life to Jesus, and I wanted to do something for Him.
But a man like me can’t do much of anything. So, I decided I would just hang out on this corner and ask people that simple question. I’ve been doing that for years but tonight is the first time I ever knew it did anybody any good.”
The apostle Paul encouraged the Galatian church with these words, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NIV)
God calls us not to be perfect, but to be faithful.
When you share God’s love with someone or when you help a person in need, you aren’t responsible for the outcome.It’s up to God to bring about the end results.
If you are struggling with feelings of insecurity and doubt, wondering if you’re making a difference or not — stay faithful, don’t quit.
Because you are making a difference and your harvest is coming!

Rev. Doug Johnson is the senior pastor at Raven Assembly of God in Raven, Virginia.