Sunday, April 04, 2004 . 5:00 PM
Only One
Greg Laurie
I have heard it said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do
everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. What I
ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do."
One godly man or woman can make a dramatic difference, even in the
darkest of circumstances. Jesus put it this way:
"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its
flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled
underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world-like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light
under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In
the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that
everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:13 NLT)
Our Lord is telling us that we, like salt, should make a difference in
the situations we are in. Just as a little salt can either improve or
worsen the flavor of something, a little influence can go a long way.
You might be the only Christian in your family ... or the only Christian
in your workplace ... or the only Christian in your classroom ... or the
only Christian in your neighborhood. In fact, you may be trying to get
out of an uncomfortable situation in which you find yourself. But you
may have been put there by the Lord to be an influence and, in a godly
way, to move people in the right direction. God can do a lot with a
little.
We have heard of people like Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus
Crusade for Christ International, who recently went to be with the Lord,
and D. L. Moody, the great evangelist of his time, and of course, Billy
Graham. But have you ever heard of Edward Kimball or Henrietta Mears?
Without Edward Kimball, there never would have been a D. L. Moody.
Kimball was a shoe salesman. He worked at a shoe store in Chicago and
felt led by the Lord to share the gospel with young Dwight, a fellow
salesman. Dwight responded to the message, gave his heart to Jesus
Christ, and ultimately went on to be the greatest evangelist of his
generation. It was because of Edward Kimball's faithfulness to share the
gospel that the Lord reached D. L. Moody, who in turn reached millions.
What about Henrietta Mears? In 1928 she was called to teach a Sunday
School class at the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. Under her
direction, the class grew from 400 to 4,000. She later went on to found
Gospel Light Publishing and Forest Home Christian Conference Center in
Southern California. Of the people she influenced, 400 went into
full-time Christian service. Among them were Bill Bright and Billy
Graham.
It is the power of one. Our lives can make a difference. In Ezekiel
22:30 God says, "I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of
righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in
the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found
no one" (NLT). God is looking for that one who can make his or her mark.
You may be the only Christian whom some people will ever know. The fact
is that God can do a lot with a little. If you don't believe me, just
ask that boy who was willing to share his lunch one day and saw Jesus
feed 5,000 people, plus women and children, with his little meal. Or
spend some time in the Book of Exodus, where you'll find the story of
one man who lived such a godly life that, for all practical purposes, he
kept two-and-a-half million people from turning to full-tilt idolatry.
His name was Moses.
God is just looking for one-someone like you-someone like me. Will you
be that one person? We all would love to be a Billy Graham, D. L. Moody,
or Bill Bright. Maybe you will be. But would you be willing to at least
be an Edward Kimball or a Henrietta Mears? Would you be willing to do
what you can, where you are, with the influence that God has given you?
Never underestimate the power of one.
Live It!
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