What difference can one person make? The world is large and filled with problems, evil, and naysayers. Perhaps cynicism is the largest obstacle. There are a lot of people out there ready to tell you why your dream won't succeed, but history tells us that one person can make a difference.
In 1988 an Eskimo hunter discovered three whales trapped in the Arctic ice. Not an unusual experience, but this time it came to the attention of a few people who, against all odds, acted. What resulted was a multinational rescue effort that captured the attention of a nation. You may or may not agree with the use of resources for such an endeavor, but that isn't the point. All this happened because a few individuals, not nations or corporations, took a risk and tried to make a difference.
William Booth had been ministering as an evangelist for years, but in 1865 he found his calling as he was ministering in the East End of London. He believed that he could make a difference in the life of the poor there by preaching the gospel while living it out among the people there. He didn't have much more than his family behind him. He was often egged and had bottles and rocks thrown at him while he preached. When East Enders came to Christ "respectable" churches wouldn't let them join their congregations. With that kind of cynical opposition, what hope was there that Booth would make a difference? Today, millions of lives have been changed by The Salvation Army that he founded.
Blake Mycoskie was a tourist visiting Argentina when two things happened. First, he noticed that many children didn't have shoes and this was leading to preventable diseases. Second, he noticed and fell in love with a local Argentine shoe. It seemed like a crazy dream for one person to pull off, but he collected a small group of friends and started Tom Shoes in his apartment living room. He started a new line of shoes. For every one shoe sold, another shoe went to the poor, starting with the children who had inspired him in Argentina. Tom Shoes, both the shoes and the mission, is a growing concern today.
Derreck Kayongo, an Ugandan immigrant to the U.S. discovered that hotels threw away tons of barely used soap each year. At the same time, poor Ugandans were dying of diseases some of which could be prevented by nothing more than the availability of soap. He talked a hotel into collecting the soap they were going to throw away. He used his family's meager resources and bought a machine that forms bars of soap. He sterilizes the soap, melted it down, reformed the bars, and then began sending it back to Uganda. Now scores of hotels are working with CARE international and soap is being recycled here and in Uganda, to be distributed to those in need.
These are not flukes. One person can make a difference. If someone steps out, others will catch the vision and follow. Not all at once. Sometimes not right away. The vision doesn't have to be international. A need in your neighborhood, town, or city. One person, Grace Reynolds, saw the unmet needs of the developmentally disabled and the deaf in Longview Washington. Among other things, she began a YMCA summer camp program for this population. Her work changed my life when I entered the program as a volunteer.
My life has been filled with people who have decided to turn their backs on cynicism and make a difference. Bible study leaders, youth workers, innovators, and dreamers.
Jesus found twelve people who were willing to try and make a difference. He didn't start with the rich and the powerful. I think he could have but perhaps he was trying to make a point. Ordinary people can become extraordinary, if we are willing.
The cynical are of little use until they repent, but God can do amazing things with the dreams and the lovers. They are willing to risk for love. They are the people of faith.
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