Changing the world seems like just too big a challenge for any one person. After all, there are too many wrongs that need to be righted and too many people that need to be helped. How can a person- or even a small group of people- ever expect to make a significant impact on this world?
That question brings to mind a motley group of young men who were uneducated, uninspiring, and (seemingly) unexceptional. They would have experienced commonplace lives and been quickly forgotten, but these twelve men chose to step out of their comfort zone and give up normality to follow Jesus Christ. In doing so, they impacted lives and changed the course of history.
What was it that allowed these ordinary men to become extraordinary? We know that the power of God enables us to be much more than we can be of ourselves, but few believers make such a remarkable impact on the world. What characteristics did these men have that set them apart? We know that it was not social standing, superior intellect, or exceptional giftedness that set them apart. So what characteristic enabled these men to change the world?
The answer is surprisingly simple, yet is it incredibly difficult and costly.
What these men (and all other Christians who have impacted the world) had was a willingness to follow Christ wholeheartedly- no matter what the cost. Christ often asks difficult things of us. It may be to give up something that we hold dear or to embrace something that we loathe. It may be to take a step or two out of our comfort zone or to plunge headfirst into new, uncharted territory. Yet, He always gives us a choice: Follow Him or stay behind. And each time we do not follow, His voice becomes a little harder to hear and it becomes a little easier to disobey. Then one day, we wake up and wonder why the joy has gone out of our life and why we are not experiencing the victorious Christian life.
Seeking our own happiness is the best recipe for unhappiness. Until we, as genuine believers, are willing to forsake all and follow Him, we cannot experience the peace that surpasses all understanding. Missionary and martyr, Jim Elliot, says it best:
He Is No Fool Who Gives Up What He Cannot Keep, To Gain That Which He Cannot Lose!
Comments