We sat in a restaurant yesterday, finishing our lunch of a gigantic stuffed pizza, and talking about the upcoming weekend, when the song changed in the background. The familiar tune, Waiting on the World to Change, filled the atmosphere, and I was totally distracted from our conversation as I listened again to the lyrics of that song.
I have always felt so torn by that song - I really do like the tune, and I WANT to like the song. But something about the lyrics just twinges something in me that makes me want to rise up and say, 'No! That's not right!'
I mean, I GET that there are MANY things out of balance and out of order in our world. I get that many injustices exist at present that seem insurmountable. I GET that 'the fight ain't fair.' All true. I agree.
But the part that makes me want to scream is the part where we all just sit and wait for something better... as if life is a passive journey, and if we just sit and wait and hope long enough, through no effort of our own, and by no other external force or means or action taken, all the elements of the world will align into a sense of something better. How does that even remotely make any sense? Yet it's a philosophy that, culturally, we have bought into wholeheartedly. And so the world goes on, spinning farther and farther into darkness.
This attitude of, 'I'm just one person; my voice is not loud enough; I can't make a difference' completely and wholly discounts the idea that we can at all have an impact on our culture and our surroundings. If that is true, then we must resign to a dark and empty, purposeless idea that our lives make not even the tiniest ripple or disturbance in the course of history - that we will come and go, not having impacted the course of the world to any degree. I've only lived a very short 32 years, but I have seen enough to know that this is entirely untrue.
Our lives are very much influenced and directed by the course of others, and likewise, our lives very much influence and direct others' courses. One person impacts another in such a way as to change his or her life forever. And our world's history is crammed full of notable individuals who have left a resounding mark on the course of history - each having been impacted by one, or even several, individual whom history does not record. Yet those unrecorded names, those forgotten faces, were no less significant because they are not documented. They held no less power to influence or to impact the world around them. Because they changed the life of someone they encountered, they redirected history and altered local and world culture. One person. One voice. One life lived. No particular position of 'importance' or 'influence,' yet proven to be very important and very influential.
And so it is with me. So it is with you. We each have been given by God one life; one voice; and 24 hours in every day. It is how we use what we have been given that will determine the direction of the world. True, I am one person, relatively unknown to the world, except by those immediately surrounding me. True, I do not have a world stage to stand on, nor worldly power and influence to work with. But I have the ability to change my world by taking the time to invest my life in someone else's life. If I am God's child, full of His Spirit, His love, His passion, His wisdom, His grace, then I have the ability to take what is in me and pour it out on those around me - goodness, patience, love, peace, joy, and every good thing that He is. I have seen enough to know that when God overflows onto a person's life, their life has the potential to be forever changed for the better. And when that newly changed person begins to be filled with God, then that same person can begin to take what they have been given and give it away as well.
This chain of events is not grand or glorified. It is simple. It is not a quick-fix answer to a very complex set of problems. It requires time, patience, and faith. It requires that we each look outside of ourselves and begin to take notice of those around us who are hurting or in need- and more than that, to take action. Maybe not to fix their problems or to heal their hurts. That I know I do not have the power to do. But I do have the power to listen, to love, to give, to invest. I do have the power to be genuine and caring and enduring. I have the ability, with no agenda or ulterior motive, to be a friend and invest in the life of someone near me.
Imagine for a moment, a map of the world. On that map there are millions of dots scattered about. While maybe some of those dots are in close proximity to each other, they all seem to be generally isolated. They are just stand-alone dots, without much purpose.
Now, on that same map, begin to draw circles around those dots. The circles represent the circle of influence each dot has. Then on each circle, place another dot, and around that dot draw a circle. You can see, that in only two or three layers, we will begin to see those circles overlap. Those circles of influence begin to meet up, intersect, and soon the map is filled - covered - with dots surrounded by circles.
That is the idea of isolated, self-sustaining, keep-your-head-down and just blend in Christians (the original set of dots) beginning to live their lives the way Jesus did... encountering people, and impacting them for the Kingdom of God.... spreading love, forgiveness, goodness, healing, joy, hope... the list could go on forever.
The circles around that first set of dots represent the group of people those Christians could influence.
The new set of dots on the circles represent new Christians who are living their lives the way Jesus did, and the circles around them represent the groups of individuals they each have the opportunity to impact.
It's true. I am only one person. I am only one isolated dot on the map, and I will likely never in my lifetime have the opportunity to impact the entire world alone. But I have a circle around me. And I have the ability to inject into that circle all that God has put in me - goodness, kindness, patience, peace, joy, love, self-control, forgiveness, mercy.... I have the ability to encourage others around me for the better. I have the ability to love those around me unconditionally. I have the ability to live my life consistently before them, and to pray for the opportunity to speak to them about the One True God.
I have the ability to be used by God to change this world. I do not dare sit back and wait, or I will come to the end of this life that God has given me, and I will look back and see that I did nothing but waste precious time.