When will we finally know the full impact our lives have had?

Les explains that the final impact of our lives will not be known until the Lord, the righteous judge, reveals it at the last time. For those living today, if the Lord tarries and we pass through the valley of death, every person we have touched continues on in some way, and we do not know what they will accomplish. Les illustrates this from his own early Christian experience: people instrumental in his growth are long gone, yet what they did still carries on. The same principle applies to the lost; their impact from lostness also reaps rewards among those following their footsteps. Les emphasizes that we are responsible only to the Lord, and until He comes, that is where our responsibility lies. He then points to verse 5: “...until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, then shall every man have praise of God.” Les notes that he often defines the word “manifest,” which appears frequently in Scripture.