Does it Matter?

Have you ever wondered if doing the right thing every day really matters?  Does everyday life have any eternal significance?  Most of our activities probably seem pretty mundane and insignificant.  I suppose it is only natural to question whether or not our prayers, witness, work, and even our suffering makes much difference.

              There are two planes on which our lives can be viewed.  Because we see things on the physical level we wrestle with the question of significance.  What we don’t see, and therefore must trust in by faith, is that our service for the Kingdom matters on the cosmic, eternal and spiritual level.  Here are some Scriptural examples of what I’m referring to:

              If one looked at Daniel solely from the human viewpoint he would be seen as a religious, praying man.  But when Daniel prayed it set off a spiritual conflict unseen by human eyes that lasted twenty-one days and involved God’s most exalted creatures (Daniel 9-10). Seventy followers of Jesus gave exciting reports about a short-term mission trip in which they were greatly used of God.  But Jesus saw beyond the earthly victories to a greater spiritual victory.  He said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10).

              A good man tragically lost his family, his financial stability and his health.  From the human vantage point it certainly was a sad story.  What was unseen was the challenge that Satan had put before God.  What Job didn’t know was the cosmic question of whether or not he would worship God for nothing.

A baby was born in a stall in Bethlehem.  His mother was a poor, young Jewish girl.  Seen from the spiritual realm though His birth set off a cosmic chain of events involving Satan, the fallen angels, the nation of Israel and the other nations of the world (Revelation 12).

Does it matter whether or not I show up to worship God this next Sunday?  Is there any real cosmic significance to my prayers?  Does it make any difference in the Kingdom of God if I give?  Does my witness have any spiritual significance?  To all of the above the answer is absolutely, yes! Our lives, when dedicated to the Kingdom of God, do matter.