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I've often pondered on what it takes for a Christian to make a difference in the world. Is it how bold one is? Is it how
well-versed in the Scriptures one is? Does it depend upon the amount of people that the Christian has presented the Gospel
to? What about how many people the Christian has brought to conversion? No doubt this type of thinking has often led to feelings of regret on my part. Was I bold enough when I talked to this person? Was the listener unimpressed when I couldn't remember that verse? I only talked to one person this week about Christianity; was that enough? My life hasn't brought anyone to be baptized into Christ; is God dissatisfied with that? Thinking about past actions tends to lead us astray from how we should act in the future. Yes, even if past actions produced enormous and impressive results, it is neither a guarantee of positive future results nor a prevention of future negative results. But saying this is one thing. What can I do to convince myself otherwise and, instead, live this belief? Consider: was my original goal the correct one to have? It's complicated to determine. Does God want us to be "out there, in-your-face" Christians or does He want us to be "closet" Christians? Or maybe something in-between? When you think about God's servants who lived through the Old and New Testaments, do you think of super-humans doing extraordinary things, or do you think of an extraordinary God doing great things through ordinary people? Moses led Israel out of Egypt. Noah & family survived a chaotic and evil world. Abraham fathered a nation. Joseph was an official of Egypt. Daniel helped govern Babylonia and stood the tests of faith. David was considered one of the greatest soldiers to ever live and ruled the kingdom of Israel. Samson intimidated the Philistines. Samuel skillfully guided Israel. Peter helped to lead and guide the early Church. Paul faced numerous persecutions and yet boldly continued to preach the Word. Even the prophet Elijah did some great things. Among which: facing 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah stood alone, as a single prophet of God! And who are we to compare with the great ones of the Bible? The truth is that we're not so different. Elijah was a man just like us (James 5:16-18). So were the rest of the people of old, with the exception of one. Jesus. The exception being that He was not only without sin, but was also God's Son, a part of God. Yet in terms of the previously mentioned, He was very much the same as us. Being made manifest as a man, His many experiences are not foreign to us, and that is what should catch our attention. If you're feeling weak, inferior, limited, or ordinary, then think of yourself as some of the best material through which God can work. And in thinking of that, if you're still reaching to understand how one "ordinary" person can make a difference in God's name and favor, try to remember that we're not so different from those servants of the Bible. An act of limited weakness once saved the world. And that was just one man. |