Volume 5 of 5 in the “Change” Series
It is impossible for one person to change the world! Or is it?
One of my favorite phrases is:
“A person might not change the world, but one kind act can change someone’s entire world!”
People do not always realize is the full effect change, because it may take generations to feel. Someone who starts a change today may not even be alive long enough to see what they truly accomplished.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has become one of the most famous people to effect change in our country. The effects of what he started, what he believed in, and what he ultimately died for can still be felt today. The truth about change is it often meets opposition, even when it is for the better.
So, can one person change the world? Actually yes. It has happened multiple times, but there is no single person who created more change in his life than Jesus Christ himself. The principals of change which I call the “Three “I’s” of Change” can be seen in action by studying how Jesus used them. Let us look at each of them individually to see how he utilized them to create the kind of change to alter history, and still has an effect on any and every living person on the planet.
INFLUENCE:
Jesus was born of humble beginnings, and before he even opened his eyes had already been sentenced to death by King Herod. He spent his childhood in a different country than the one he would later influence. His occupation was nothing spectacular, just creating some furniture and other things from wood. He had no formal education and did not have a wealthy family. In spite of all this, he became the most influential person of all time. How?
Jesus committed himself to learning the truth (granted being the son of the Living God gave him a leg up on everyone else). When he spoke, he was careful with his words and selective in how he spoke to everyone. Some people would be praised and comforted, some received words of encouragement or instruction, and others incurred words which were stern and even chastising. Jesus even called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers!”
However, through his constant exposure and speaking truth, word of this man began to spread. He could perform miracles to cure the sick, give sight to the blind, and help lame men walk. If the miracles were all he did, then it would be easy for his influence to have been dismissed or even undermined as witchcraft. In fact at his trial people still used the allegation his healing was the work of demons or the devil himself. The key was his confidence in, and demonstration of the truth. He used truth to gain trust. His teachings and principles are what were continually attacked but never disproved.
With each new lesson, and in each new town, his influence grew. The power of influence propelled him to be able to reach thousands of people with his words. Not bad for a period with no internet, news papers, radio, television, phone, or even a microphone.
IMPACT:
While he had earned the trust of thousands and had become very influential, he knew that real change would not happen because of his actions alone. He would need to create IMPACT for the fire he was starting to continue to spread. So Jesus took it upon himself to personally impact individuals everywhere he went. Try to convince the man who had been lame since birth, and was now able to walk that Jesus’ was not a savior.
Nothing he did was as effective for creating change, as what he accomplished through his disciples. He selected twelve people from different backgrounds and with different points of view, then directly impacted each of them. He took the personal time with each of his disciples to change their lives forever.
His final command to each of them was to go forth and preach the gospel to the world. Each of his disciples began to travel the world and teach of Jesus. The key was in each town they found a few individuals and took the time to IMPACT them. Each of them was then able to found a new church.
Now, only Jesus could pull this next part off. After his resurrection, he reached down and impacted a man named Paul. Paul had never met Jesus in life and had become a persecutor of the Christians. Imagine the statement it made when Jesus chose to IMPACT Paul and then use him as another Disciple! Paul, who had never learned a thing from Jesus before the crucifixion founded more churches and wrote more letters than any of the other disciples. In fact, his writings make up more than half of the New Testament.
Jesus only needed to impact around a dozen people. Just look at what happened as each of them went out and continued the process of using IMPACT.
INSPIRATION:
To try and save a little time I will simply say Jesus effectively used every element I talk about in the “Change is Inspiration” blog. The key element I want to emphasize is the element of Faith. No one had a more perfect faith than the Messiah, Emmanuel (God with us), and as such he lacked nothing for courage. He was able to use his INFLUENCE and IMPACT to spark INSPIRATION in basically everyone he met.
Seriously, in just about everyone. Think about it, people either took action for the teachings of Jesus, or they took action against it. One way or another Jesus Christ inspired the people around him to take an action of some kind. Granted not everyone became a Disciple, nor did everyone take part in the hunt against the new Christians. However, in some way shape or form, anyone who heard of him was inspired to either accept him or fight him.
So, can one person change the world? Yes!
Here is the most important question to ask. What kind of change are you making? Is it a change in your life or maybe for someone in your life?
In the first blog of this series we discussed how life “is” change. If your heart still beats then change will take place in your life. Are you in control of those changes, or are you letting other people determine your outcome?
Most important of all, do you know what the changes in your life will bring you? We cannot dictate what obstacles we will encounter, but we have absolute control over what changes we allow to take effect within ourselves, and how we interact with our world. Who knows, maybe someone reading this series will be inspired to create some small change in their life, which will grow into a life changing event for countless others.
My prayers and best wishes to everyone who chose to spend their time with me through this series. I am grateful and humbled you would afford me something as precious as those moments of your life.
For more on each of the other topics in this “Change” series review their respective blogs listed below:
3 “I’s” of Change (1 of 5)
Change is Influence (2 of 5)
Change is Impact (3 of 5)
Change is Inspiration (4 of 5)
