The Difference of One Life

Just a pinch of salt can make all the difference in the flavor of something.

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless” (Matthew 5:13 NLT).

A lot of times, we’re not happy with where we are. We’re not happy with the neighborhood we live in, the jobs that we have, or the people who are around us. But does it ever occur to us that God has placed us where we are for a reason?

The Bible tells the story of Esther, who won a beauty contest and became the queen of Persia. But she didn’t reveal the fact that she was a Jew to her husband, King Xerxes. Then a wicked man named Haman hatched a plot to execute all the Jews. Esther, however, was oblivious to it as she lived in the comfort of the palace.

But her cousin Mordecai brought it to her attention and said to Esther, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NLT).

Then there was Moses, who, through his godliness and personal integrity, essentially kept 2.5 million people from turning full tilt to idolatry. Deuteronomy 33:1 simply describes him as “Moses, the man of God” (NLT). What greater compliment could we pay than to describe someone that way?

Moses potentially could have been the next pharaoh of Egypt. But he came to a fork in the road. The Bible tells us, “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24–25 NLT).

We all come to pivotal moments in our lives that can make all the difference as to how we end up. We’re making decisions now that will affect us later in life. How important it is that we make the right ones. Moses knew that Egypt had a lot to offer. But that wasn’t what he wanted. Instead, he wanted to be with God’s people. So he gave up something. In fact, he gave up a lot.

Have you given up something to follow Jesus Christ? Whatever you’ve given up to follow Christ will be more than made up to you in this life and in the life to come (see Mark 10:29–30).

Moses made a principled stand in his life. What a difference one life can make. You may be the only Christian in your sphere of influence right now. You may be the only follower of Jesus Christ that others will see.

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