Personal Impact
by Cary Branscum
Can one person really make a difference?
Last year I picked up a copy of an intriguing book entitled The Legacy of Luna. The cover photo showed a young woman in her 20's sitting in the lofty crook of a giant tree with her face looking into the wind. Her name was Julia Hill, and she was given the name "Butterfly" by some environmental activists. Julia was looking for a way to make a difference in her world. She climbed into a giant tree in the Pacific Northwest to protest actions by the lumber industry in that area. This article is not about her cause, nor about the lumber industry. The point is simple: One person made a huge difference and so can we!
The book explained where Julia came from, what she tried to do, and the day to day experiences of a long term "tree-sit." She sat in that tree for over a year. She never came down. Food and supplies were provided to her by a support team on the ground. She braved storms, freezing weather, rain, sleet, snow, and sun. She had a small makeshift platform on which she lived the whole time. As time went on, she became more and more determined to stay in her tree, and went so far as naming the tree "Luna." After receiving national notoriety, visits from celebrities, along with a great deal of popular support, she receieved assurances the forest would be protected. Julia came down and wrote the book. Whether or not you like her cause, let's remember that Julia is one person who took a stand, decided on a course of action, and made a difference.
A few weeks ago, Julia Hill came through my town and gave a little speech about the environment. I went to the event and met her. I even had my copy of her book autographed. She was delightful person -- very personable, humble, and vulnerable. Julia seemed rather surprised, and even a bit bewildered by her newfound fame. It was wonderful meeting someone who made a difference!
Maybe you can see where this is going. Jesus was the one individual who made the most difference of anyone who has ever lived. In Philippians 2:5-11, we are given the cycle of Jesus' life.
He was in Glory
He became a Servant in Humility
He was obedient to God and let himself be used by God at great personal cost
He was raised up and exalted
He went back to Glory
Jesus made a difference by being a humble servant to others and obedient to God. You and I can do that, too. We have God's Glory shining in us and through us because He is our Father, He lives in us and shines through us by His Spirit. Yes, each of us is JUST one person... but each of IS God's one person. He wants to make a difference through each of us. He is asking us to make a difference in our world by having the attitude of Jesus. Will we let Him use us? Will you let Him use you?
I know you're probably thinking, "How can God make a difference through me? There a lot of more important people out there that can help; why would he ever use me?"
God says that we should have Jesus' attitude -- we should take up "our cross" in a cause greater than ourselves, serving others and obeying our Heavenly Father in humility. He asks us to look beyond our own lives and see ourselves as part of something bigger and greater than ourselves. There is no more meaningful life than one given to a great cause. What greater cause is there than the grace of God shared with broken people.
Not only that, God has promised that he will exalt us in His own way, at the right time, as we serve Him and others. We will even get to go back to Glory and be with Him, along with those with whom we've shared His grace.
Bottom line: We only have a limited amount of time here, so let's use our lives to make an eternal difference! Let's serve others and obey our Father, trusting that he will make our efforts effective and life-changing for others. After all, that's The Legacy of the Lord!
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
URL: http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200106/20010628_impact.html
(c) 2001 Cary Branscum <cary@westover.org>. Used by permission.
(c) 1996-2002, Heartlight, Inc.