And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 25:46
Next time you are in a large crowd, look around at all the people and see how many differences you can identify: age, gender, race, economic situation, clothing preference, and so on. But also look at all those people and see if you can identify the biggest difference of all: whether these people are saved or lost, whether their eternal destination is Heaven or hell, whether they are brothers and sisters in Christ or strangers forever. In most cases, you won’t be able to detect the difference just by looking at them. By spending a little time with them, by listening to their conversation, by watching their behaviour, you might be able to pick up some strong hints. For example, there is little hope for the profane woman cursing her children’s misbehaviour or the slovenly drunk lounging against the wall, or the bold teenager flaunting her scantily clad body. But even with these, there is no way to tell for sure. And yet, every group of people we encounter has an invisible line running through it, dividing the people into eternal residents of damnation or bliss.
While it is not up to us to make the determination as to whether people around us are saved or lost, it is up to us to make sure the Gospel is available to all who want to escape the judgment to come. When the Lord Jesus gave His great commission to go into all the world with the Gospel, He initially spoke to His disciples. But the great commission is not just for the disciples. It is not just for the preachers, evangelists, and missionaries, not just for the men and boys who take their turns speaking at Assembly Gospel meetings, not just for Sunday School teachers and children’s meeting participants. Whether preaching, or distributing tracts, or helping with Gospel work, or being a faithful testimony, or even being a prayer warrior, we all have a responsibility in reaching the lost people around. Because most of them are going to hell, and all of them could be saved.
Although often invisible to the human eye, there is no greater distinction between people than the distinction of whether they are bound for the mansions of glory or the caverns of the damned. The difference is eternal, and therefore it is critical. But most of those who are lost are totally indifferent to this great difference. They don’t see what difference it makes for eternity because they don’t see what difference it makes now. If they can’t detect any difference between themselves and possessers of eternal life, they won’t feel any need for eternal life. It’s up to us to show them the difference.
Our testimony ought to make our salvation – and our Saviour – the greatest desire of those who see us. -Jim MacIntosh