Dear friends, last Wednesday God blessed our church with a County Building Permit.  After working to get one since January, we have it in hand, and now we'll see quick progress.  God willing, our builder Gene says that during the week of July 4, we'll see the walls go up and the roof go on.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

          It has been a long road, but there are still potholes we'll have trouble avoiding.  This past week we learned that forgetting to use a colored adhesive can bring a project to a halt.  And I learned that sitting for an hour by a desk waiting for a permit makes the staff want to work harder just to get you to leave.  This past week made me remember a poster I once had with three frazzled wide-eyed raccoons on it with the words, "There are those who spend their lives making things happen, those who watch things happen, and the rest of us wonder what in the world is happening!"

          Most of us fall into one of those categories, especially considering how complex our world has become.  With every passing day more rules are enacted to make sure we build right, raise our kids right, speak right and drive right, all the while ignoring right morals, right beliefs and common sense.  Sometimes when we look back at life, we may find we've accomplished much, yet feel unfulfilled.  At other times we feel we've done nothing, or done too much of the wrong things.  Mostly, we tend to be like one of those raccoons, wide-eyed and frazzled, wondering what in all the world is happening!

          It's good, now and then, to ask ourselves simple questions, like "Why am I here?" or "What am I doing?"  Hagar, Sarah's servant, was wandering lost in the wilderness and ready to give up, when an angel appeared to her and asked, "Hagar, where have you come from and where are you going?" (Genesis 16:8)   Now Hagar was running away.  If an angel asked you those same questions, how would you answer?  "Why are you here?  What are you doing?  Where have you come from?  Where are you going?"  Are you in some way running away like Hagar?

          The book of Hebrews can help us.  The early chapters tell how Christ Jesus is our great High Priest who's done everything for our salvation.  Then the book centers on great people of faith -- Abraham, Sarah and Jacob, Moses, Rahab and Samuel -- that "great cloud of witnesses" who achieved great things because of the greatness of God.

          Now, in the ending verses, the writer challenges us -- "lift up your drooping hands, and strengthen your weak knees, ... strive for peace and holiness in your living ... Keep on loving each other ... Do not forget to entertain strangers ... Remember those in prison ... and those who are mistreated ... Honor marriage among all ... Keep your lives free from the love of money ... be content with what you have..."  Not just pious platitudes here, but good deeds that make a difference.

          Such words are a great challenge for life.  You can't help but be humbled by the lives and acts of such great people of faith.  But these words issue a call to sacrifice.  They are a call to make a difference in the world around us;  Make a difference to others by what we say and do;  Make a difference by showing the love of Jesus in our lives.

          A son was teling his mother about his plans one day to get into his own business and make lots of money.  The son told her he planned to make enough to retire by age forty, exhuding confidence and his belief that having a certain sum of money is all there was to life.  Finally his mother said, "Son, do you want to make a living or do you want to have a life?  Do you want to make money or make a difference?"

          Those are important questions, ones we've probably never asked ourselves.  Do I want to make a living or make a difference?  For many people, making a living is all there is to life, working 50-60-70 hours a week for a paycheck.  For others, their main goal in life is to make a fortune so they can quit work.  For others their goal is to make a splash -- have beautiful friends, go to great lengths to experience whatever pleasures they can and to live life like the song that says:  "I did it MY way."

          But God wants us to make a difference for His sake, not just our own.  He wants us to put ourselves aside long enough to think of others.  That's why He tells us in Hebrews:  "Keep on loving each other ... Do not forget to entertain strangers ... Remember those in prison ... and those who are mistreated ... Honor marriage among all ... Keep your lives free from the love of money ... be content with what you have..."

          Last Friday at the garage sale I spoke with a member of my former congregation who informed me one of the people I knew there, a tall fine young man with two children, had committed suicide.  I was stunned, as I had just spoken with him by phone only a few months ago.  No matter who it is or what the circumstances are, hearing of a suicide cuts to the very core of our life.  It opens a box we'd rather keep closed, and it brings us questions we aren't sure we can answer.

          And no matter what the circumstances, suicide is terrible to everyone, to both the dead and the living.  Never, never do it, my friends, no matter what the sirens of our culture may say.  We may all think of it from time to time - that's only human - just don't do it!  People who do this never realize the devastation they leave with those they've left behind.  Suicide has deadly repercussions that last for generations.

          Instead of indulging in the ultimate act of self-centeredness, why not make a difference by doing good for others?  Most of us can point to a few people in our lives who have made a difference.  Mrs. Sylvester was my teacher from the second to the sixth grades in a two-room school house, one the classroom and the other the library.  Mrs. Sylvester not only taught us information, she taught us about life, and she instilled in me a love and respect of learning that I've carried my whole life.

          Sadly, when she died at age 100, the newspaper didn't even mention her 30 years of teaching children in rural schools, or that she was married to a Native American carpenter or that she was a personal friend of author Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The last time I saw her, she was sitting in a nursing home chair across the hall from my parents.  And for the first time, she didn't recognize me.  When I told her she was my teacher, she said, "I was a teacher?"  And then quietly she said, "Was I a good teacher?"  Through a big lump in my throat I said, "You were the best."  Hundreds of grown-up boys and girls today know what a difference she made in all our lives.

          Lewis Thomas once said, "We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whomever we touch."  That's making a difference.  Christians need to do that.  God calls us acts of service and deeds of love that leave "traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whomever we touch."

          Our Lord made a difference.  He touched people and their lives were changed forever.  He went into the crowds, touching old people and young people, healthy people and sick people, rich and poor people, changing their lives wherever He went.  He made the ultimate difference by giving His life for us on Calvary.  Some people who trusted their old traditions wanted Him out of the way, and so they had Him crucified.  But you and I know it was not really just those people way back there who crucified Him -- it was all of us.  Our sins and the sins of all people of all history put Christ on the cross.  The sins of humanity were the nails that held Him to the cross.  Sin made a big difference to God -- big enough to sacrifice His only Son.

          The Lord Jesus has made a big difference for me and He has made a big difference for you.  His love for us is big enough, wide enough, and deep enough, that whoever trusts Him will have eternal life.  Eternal life comes to us because Christ rose from the grave.  Plenty of famous people have made a difference in people's lives, but they've all died.  Only one rose again, and He's made the biggest difference of all.

          "There are those who spend their lives making things happen, those who watch things happen, and the rest of us wonder what in the world is happening!"  But God's Word encourages us:  "Keep on loving each other ... Do not forget to entertain strangers ... Remember those in prison ... and those who are mistreated ... Honor marriage among all ... Keep your lives free from the love of money ... be content with what you have..."

          In other words, make a difference!  Make a difference with your children by practicing what you preach.  Make a difference in your church by giving gifts so we can complete our new building without more loans.  Make a difference in your future by using your talents to further God's Kingdom and increase His flock.  Make a difference at work by being a witness to Jesus.  Make a difference at school by listening to God, not just what your friends say.  Make a difference by helping a neighbor in need.  Some young man or woman needs the hope and encouragement you can give them so they won't be tempted to give up and take their own life like my friend.

          When Benjamin Franklin became convinced that street lights would be good for everyone, he didn't go on a campaign to raise funds and change the laws of Philadelphia.  He placed a lamp high on a pole in front of his own house.  And every night he lit that lamp so that all who passed by felt its warm glow and could see where they were walking.  Soon other people put up lights in front of their homes.  And soon the city residents saw something happening.  Finally the city fathers raised the money and put up street lights all over Philadelphia.  One man made a difference, and all others around him were blessed.

          Don't just make a living, my friends, make a difference. Amen!

Copyright © 2001 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.