The Difference We Make

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

– Matthew 22:36-40

Have you ever wondered if Christ-followers really make a difference in the world? And would life be any different if Jesus had never been born?

The short answer is that the world would be a very different place. First, if Jesus had never been born, there would be no Church. This is the same Church that helped to stop

slavery, cannibalism and the killing of children — all permissible practices in their respective cultures. It’s also likely that the world would be less educated. Christian missionaries first put many of the world’s languages into print to help their native speakers read the Bible. And all but one of the first 123 colleges in Colonial America were Christian institutions. Harvard was even founded on this statement:

“Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, John 17:3.”

If Jesus had never been born, the Church wouldn’t have been around to promote the biblical principles of free enterprise, private property rights and the work ethic. It’s because the United States government was largely founded by Christ-followers that The Declaration of Independence cites self-evident truths and unalienable rights from the Creator. Our nation also recognizes the rule of law rather than the authority of man — a concept tracing back to the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments. Even the slogan embossed on the Liberty Bell comes from the Bible: “Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof…”

The truth is that Christ-followers and the Church HAVE made a difference. Today, they continue to change the world in both small ways and large, such as by delivering meals to shut-ins and providing housing for the homeless. Samaritan’s Purse — the Christian relief organization headed by Franklin Graham — also distributes Christmas packages each year as a direct expression of Christ’s love for the world’s children. That organization also helps thousands in the United States and abroad cope with both manmade and natural disasters, such as Hurricane Laura, which devastated parts of the Gulf Coast in August 2020.

Of course, what all Christ-followers — collectively known as the Church — must never forget is the Power behind the difference they make:

“I am the vine; you are the branches,” declares Jesus. “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”