Does It Matter?
After the, “Amen,” the six-year-old looked at us and said, “You really love God, don’t you?”
When Robert and I took our little friend for a hamburger, we held hands and had a blessing before we ate. It seems that she was not accustomed to doing that with her family, at least not in public.
Another time, we prayed before eating while in Brazil with two 
of our sons. We raised our heads to see a man leaning over the corner of our table with tears in his eyes. He said, “One of these days, I will be doing this with my family.”
He confessed to having been unfaithful as a husband and father. His sinful lifestyle had destroyed his family. He’d become a Christian a year earlier, and his deepest desire was to see his family come to know the Lord and for the family to be restored.
You might think, “Why not pray silently while putting my napkin in my lap? Does it matter if I bow to pray at McDonald’s? ”
Does it matter?
What we do does matter. At both of these events, we were going about life. We were being ourselves, doing what we do.
We had no idea that we were being watched. Our little friend observed and understood that we love God. At breakfast, the stranger saw that we love God and each other. It brought him to tears as it quickened a longing deep in his heart.
These situations made Paul’s words to the Corinthians come alive for me, “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all” (2 Cor. 3:2).
Paul didn’t need other people to write letters commending him to newcomers, because people could just look at the Corinthians to see the effect of Paul’s message in their lives.
Robert’s recent visit to see pastors his father worked with while planting churches in Brazil renewed the awareness that people read our lives and it matters what we do.
Time after time, people who knew his parents told of events or conversations that occurred through the course of their service there. Nothing big or spectacular, but lessons were learned that have never been forgotten.
One woman told of going to the country for a party for a young lady who was getting married. While preparing to go, she and her friend talked about how Robert’s mother always looked nice, so they worked to dress accordingly, adding jewelry to look their best. They copied what they learned from watching her life.
However, when she arrived to pick them up, she paused after greeting them. She asked, “Have you thought about who we’re going to see? These people don’t have much. I think they’d be more comfortable if we dress simply when we visit with them.” She very kindly and gently sent them back to dress more simply.
She was living her life of caring about others. They never forgot the lesson, and they loved her for it.
We do not live in a vacuum. We are letters whether we like it or not, and whether we realize it or not. The way we live reflects upon our family, our school or place of business, our church, and—if we call ourselves Christian—on our God.
As we go about life, people notice whether we are angry and judgmental or kind and loving. What they read in us may be their only letter of recommendation about Jesus. It could lead them turn their backs on Him.
On the other hand, many people have given their lives to the Lord because of the righteousness, peace, and joy they see in a believer.
“You yourselves are our letter of recommendation . . . to be known and read by all” (2 Cor. 3:2).
It does matter. The way we live matters every day.
May we be mirrors that reflect the goodness of God, giving glory and honor to Him.