The quality of your belief in God determines the quality of life you want for yourself. I would like you to read this wonderful experience written by an anonymous author:

We had a class in Physiology right after Patriots’ Day. Since most of the students travelled over the long holiday weekend, everyone was excited to come back and tell their friends about what they had done.

Our old professor came in and immediately understood that it was going to take some work to get everyone to settle down. With a great deal of patience he tried to begin the class, but do you think anyone was ready to listen? No way.

Now with some awkwardness, the teacher politely asked for silence. Again, there was no response. We ignored his request and continued with our conversations.

It was then that the old professor lost his temper and gave us the biggest lecture ever.

Here’s what he said: “Pay attention, because I’ll say this only once,” he said raising his voice, and a guilty silence settled across the room. The professor continued: “When I began teaching—which was many years ago—I discovered that we as teachers work with only 5% of the students in a class. In all these years, I’ve noticed that out of every one hundred students only five will actually make a difference in the future; only five become brilliant professionals that significantly contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for others. The other 95% are only space-fillers; they are mediocre and go through life leaving nothing useful for society. Interestingly enough, this percentage applies to everything in the world. If you pay attention, you will notice that out of a hundred teachers, only five make a difference; out of a hundred waiters, only five are excellent; out of a hundred taxi drivers, only five are true professionals; and we can generalize even further: out of a hundred people only five are truly special. It’s a great pity that we can’t separate the 5% from the rest, because if it were possible, I would just allow the special students to stay in this room and send the rest of you out. This way I would have the silence to give a good lesson and I would sleep peacefully knowing that my time was invested only in the best. Unfortunately, there is no way to know which of you are these students. Only time will tell. Therefore, I must adapt and try to teach those special students despite the chaos caused by the rest of you. Of course, all of you have a choice as to which group you want to be in. Thank you for your attention, and now let’s get on with today’s lesson.”

Needless to say, silence fell over the classroom and the teacher was given the highest level of attention. This much deserved reprimand touched us all and for the rest of the semester my Physiology class behaved in an exemplary way. After all, who would want to be classified as one of the space-fillers?

Today, I don’t remember much from my Physiology class, but I will never forget the lecture the professor gave us that day. To me, that teacher was one of the 5% that made a difference in my life. In fact, I know he was right and since then I have done everything to be among the 5%, but as he said, there is no way to know whether you’re on the right track or not. Only time will tell which group you belong to. Yet one thing is certain: if we do not try to be special in everything we do, if we don’t try our best in everything we do, we will surely be like the rest of the class.

It’s the same when it comes to our faith in the Word of God. Those who strive to build character and conduct themselves in accordance with His Word will achieve the life of quality that it promises.

Jesus said: Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).