The difference of ONE

A reoccurring thought in my mind throughout this course was the difference one person made. Studying the lives of past missionaries such as Amy Carmichael, John Sung, David Livingston, Hudson Taylor, John G. Paton, and many more have encouraged me more than ever that God has a call on each and every life and wants to see it fulfilled.

Doubts, fears and confusion can enter our minds to stop us from having vision. Habakkuk 2:2 states “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” What happens when we lose vision for our lives? The thief will come to steal, kill, and destroy. It’s what he does best. I am positive each of the missionaries I mentioned earlier had worries and uncertainties, but they maintained vision.

How can we acquire vision? It is our desires or God’s desires that we must fulfill? When we come into communion with God his vision becomes our vision, his desires become our desires, and his heart becomes our heart. Under this communion we are able to ask the Lord what our plan is in His will. His last command in Luke 16: 15-16 must become our first priority. “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

I am one, but in Christ I am a conqueror. Alone I can do nothing, but in Christ I can do everything. Did each of these missionaries know the impact they would have on the world? No, but they had a vision, ran with it, and saw nations come to Christ. No matter what the enemy throws at us, we can stand up and say “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” Psalm 62:1-2.

Amy Carmichael saw 1,000 children come out of slavery and prostitution in India, John Sung lead the Asian awakening, David Livingston made important geographical studies in Africa, Hudson Taylor helped with the sick in China, John G. Paton lead a whole island to know Christ, and now it is our turn to make a difference in the world. Do not say, “I am only one, I can do nothing” but rather say, “I am the one who is willing to lay down my life and make a difference.”

Throw down fears of language barriers, unfamiliar circumstances, food and understanding of culture. May our minds expand and see people the way God sees people. May our hearts’ break for what His breaks’ for. A quote by Hudson Taylor says, “Why should anyone hear the gospel twice if people haven’t heard it once?” Allow God’s vision manifest in us that we may share the heart of God for all people, all nations and all tongues.

For I know my life is not my own.