Make a Difference in This World

John 15:27 (NIV)

And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

What do we do when depression take over our minds? How do we react when anxiety springs up on us? Where do we go to when all of our energy seems to have evaporated into thin air? Where do we turn when adversity becomes our constant companion?

In the 14th century, construction began on the western tower of the St. Waburga Church in Veurne, Belgium. It was going to be a glorious tower, and many were looking forward to seeing its completion. But it never came to be. Due to limited funds, the work was halted and the tower was never completed.

These people could commiserate with those of us whose strength has left us.

Although unfinished however, the tower was far from being useless! Its caves, deep in the ground, were ideal for storing ammunition and protecting Veurne residents from the bombings of World War II, and even today it has found its usefulness. A modern art museum is now hosted there. Even though incomplete, the tower still has its place in society!

I have discovered that age has nothing to do with usefulness. I have met elderly people who are still so full of vigor that they continue to be shining examples of how God had transformed their lives. Not only do they do the unthinkable, like that 90 year-old woman who jumped from a plane (with a parachute naturally!) for the first time in her life, but they also testify about Jesus through their actions, by helping the dejected, by encouraging the hopeless and by visiting the abandoned.

An older lady discovered she had cancer. It didn’t stop her from becoming a missionary in China. “If I have to die, it doesn’t matter where it will occur. I want to die in a place where I can be useful and where I can testify.”

I have also met young people, however, who acted like they were elderly. They have no ambition, no motivation. Maybe it’s because they hadn’t discovered what the apostle Paul had found out:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:35-39 NIV)

Doesn’t this truth fill us with adrenaline? Doesn’t this encourage us to carry this banner of love throughout our neighborhood’s? How many around us are hungering for hope? Why can’t we be the ones to satisfy that hunger?

Yes, we may face ridicule, even rejection, but still such consequences are meager compared to the witness of Christians in oppressed countries. Their testimony can cost them their very lives, yet they still go one, undeterred. With God’s love spurring them to action, they bring hope to the hopeless, encouragement to the depressed, and friendship to those who are friendless.

All of those who don’t hesitate to testify have discovered a simple truth: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10 NIV)

No matter how incomplete our own “tower” stands, we can make a difference! We don’t have to feel dejected and useless! It’s time to stand up, for we truly are “more than conquerors through him who loved” you.

Are you willing to make a difference in this world?

Dear Lord, We pray that today will be the day we will make a difference in our world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Will You Make a Difference?

Matthew 25:40 (New International Version)

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Did you know that hundreds of orphaned bear cubs are shot every year, just to keep them from starving to death? Ever since the white man has encroached on bear territory, orphaned cubs have become a huge problem. Many mother bears are either hit by cars or shot by hunters each year, and because bear cubs are totally dependent upon their mothers, orphaned babies are left to the mercy of the wild. Most will either starve or fall victim to predators, and even to other bears.

Veterinarian Ken Macquisten had a burden on his heart for these cubs. He theorized that if orphaned bear cubs could be given a safe wilderness home to grow up in, with little or no human contact, they could be released back into the wild. He suggested that a three-strand electric fence could be stretched around approximately two acres of wilderness land rich in the food elements necessary for the survival of bears. Inside the fence, the bear cubs would be protected from predators while they learned to forage for food. He decided to test his idea with two orphans, Coola and Grinder.

Coola was found wandering aimlessly in Bella Coola, British Columbia after his mother was hit by a car. It isn't known what happened to Grinder's mother, but he was discovered alone and near the point of starvation near the Alberta-British Columbia border. Ken took these two orphans under his care until he had built their wilderness habitat in the Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife near Vancouver, British Columbia, and then he released them into this area.

Unfortunately, by the time the experimental area was ready, Coola and Grinder had been with humans too long to ever be released into the wild; however, the experiment was a total success in every other way. When the cubs first arrived in their new habitat, they both weighed about 7 kg. ("By way of explanation - because there was no government authorized program to release captive raised orphan grizzlies at the time that Grinder and Coola became orphans, these two bears had no chance of being releasable in any event." Dr. Ken Macquisten)

By the time their first winter arrived, Coola weighed 78 kg and Grinder 61 kg. They had both learned how to forage for food and how to do all the other things that bears need to survive. Most importantly, they proved that Ken's idea would work. Thanks to this successful experiment, the Canadian authorities now have an alternative for orphaned bear cubs.

It only took one man to make a difference in the survival of these abandoned cubs! Just one man!

Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere, has an infant mortality of 7.6%! Because of a baby boom, almost half of its population is under 14 years of age, with the median age being 17. The average life expectancy is 51. If you ever visit this country, you will be in for a major shock. Crowds of people live either in the streets or in shacks that aren't fit for human occupation. Water mixed with human waste flows freely in the streets. Disease rampages out of control.

What can one do in such conditions?

Hands and Feet, an autonomous ministry founded by members of Audio Adrenaline and Flicker Records, came to the rescue of Haitian orphans to provide hope to future generations in Haiti. Their philosophy: "When we impact the lives of these orphans, we impact future leaders of communities, cities, and a nation. Touch a child and you can rescue a nation. It begins with the children. They need love, hugs, and a caring family - a home. Together we can change their world through God's love."

One little thing, yet what a difference it makes in the lives of those kids.

My question: What am I doing to make a difference in this world?

It only takes one dedicated person to make a difference in this world. Will it be me? Will you be that one?

Dear Lord we pray today that we would make the difference. We pray that our eyes would be open and our hearts would be ready to help. In Jesus’ name, Amen.