“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.  He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” –Ephesians 5:1-2

“It could be that one of the greatest hindrances to evangelism is the poverty of our own experience.”  --Billy Graham

As you catch God’s vision for bringing the good news of Jesus to the world, it’s common to assume the way to begin is to try to do “something really big for God!”  That’s certainly “the American way, but in our experience, bigger isn’t usually better.  We recommend doing something profound: Start small.  Remember our motto: small things done with great love will change the world.  Small seeds grow into tall trees, and they’re small for a reason—to take greatest advantage of the tiniest of openings and opportunities.

Jesus could’ve chosen huge celebrities from the religious or political world to spread his gospel.  It would have made sense to use their automatic name recognition and network of friends in high places to “build buzz” and gain “crowd appeal.”  But Jesus chose little-known people from the least-known provinces and villages as his anointed messengers.  The “dream team” he handpicked for the job was made up of former fishermen, a reformed tax collector, a rehabilitated prostitute or two, and others even more obscure.  We think he might have chosen them for the same reason God picked a stuttering sheepherder, named Moses, to free his chosen people from slavery.  And why God chose the youngest son of a shepherd to become the greatest king of Israel.  God can work through anyone and everyone.  If you’ve ever felt too small, or unskilled, or unworthy to be a world-changer, God has remarkable news for you—you are chosen!

Hard to believe, but it’s true nonetheless, God wants to pour his love into you and through you in world-changing ways.  Jesus said, “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20a, The Message).  Jesus was talking to you—and to all of us who know we don’t have what it takes to pull this off.  That’s why the very next thing he says is: “I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b, The Message).  You may feel unimportant, but with Jesus always at your side, nothing can stop you!

“Making disciples of all nations” naturally flows out from a vibrant relationship with God—the source of all love.  As you listen to God, love God, and share your heart with God, it’s only natural to want to serve others in God’s name.  Your desire and capacity for serving the Lord may start out small, but it will increase.  The more you serve, the more you’ll experience God, and the greater your love for him will naturally become.  This is how your spirit is meant to grow.  The Bible points out that the more you mature spiritually, the more you’ll “reflect the Lord’s glory” as you “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).

IT’S NOT BIG BUSINESS

Contrary to what you may have been led to believe by television and the movies, changing the world is a pretty simple and humble process.  Though it’s serious business, it’s often really fun, too.  You don’t have to write best-selling books or become a missionary in some remote South American tribe.  World-changing opportunities will present themselves when you step out your door.  One group of Christ-followers we know had a simple idea as they watched people walking down the boardwalk at the beach in Santa Cruz, California.  They’d noticed lots of people uncomfortably brushing sand off their feet as they walked along and wondered, “Didn’t Jesus teach his followers to serve by washing feet?”  Shannon, one of the group members, tells the story:

Our church friends said, “No one is going to let you touch their feet!  You guys are crazy!”  But they couldn’t have been more wrong...

We set up at the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz about 1:00 in the afternoon.  There were just a handful of us.  We chose a spot right at the entrance to the beach.  Our supplies consisted of two fold-up chairs, two plastic containers, paper towels, liquid Dial soap, a five-gallon jug to haul water, and a heart for the lost.

Our opening line went something like, “Hi.  Would you like to sit down and let us rinse the sand off of your feet?”

We had very few refusals!  In fact, we were so busy that we actually had people lined up!  We took about three minutes with each person.  We silently prayed as we worked, but when asked, about 95 percent of the people let us pray out loud with them.

There were many heart-touching encounters that day, but there is one I’ll always remember.  One gentleman from Asia kept calling one of our team members “Jesus.”  When we tried to correct him and explain who Jesus was, he replied, “I know who Jesus is, and you are just like him.”

We all knew that if we showed up and were faithful, Jesus would show up, too.  And let me tell you, seeing people on that beach through Jesus’ eyes was absolutely amazing!

Maybe this story doesn’t sound particularly earth shattering, but we think it’s exactly how God likes us to go about changing the world.  The little group of boardwalk foot-washers was responding in the spirit of Jesus to a simple need they observed.  In fact, what they did calls to mind Ephesians 5:1-2 which tells us to “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.  He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

When we think of Jesus giving himself up as a sacrifice to God, we’re likely to focus exclusively on one event that took place on the cross and forget the lifetime of service that preceded it.  Jesus was “giving himself up” all the time.  From the moment he woke up in the morning, to the time he went to sleep every night, his was a lifestyle dedicated to serving the Father.

It isn’t one big moment in your life—one big act of service—that will change the world.  It’s the little things.  The everyday things.  It’s the way you live your life moment-to-moment, day-to-day . . . today.  Imitate Jesus in how you connect with each person you meet and, like Jesus; you’ll begin impacting one life at a time as you go about your daily routine.  Look, listen, and open your heart to the opportunities presented to you each day and you won’t just read about miraculous events in the Bible, you’ll actually play a part in then.

It’s what happened to Dave [Ping] in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

My wife, Pam, is a real dog lover, so when we went south to help survivors of the Gulf Coast hurricanes, she was worried about all the pets stranded by the storms.  So before we could head home, she insisted that we spend an afternoon volunteering at a Humane Society that was reuniting storm victims with their rescued dogs.  I grumbled that God had called us to help people—not puppy dogs—but like an obedient husband, went along anyway . . . and ended up being glad I did.

When we got there, Pam went to work on the phones and I went to work with several other men loading huge trailers with hundreds of 20-pound and 50-pound bags of donated dog food.  It was hot, sweaty work and the trailers kept coming.  When we stopped for a break, I caught my breath and struck up a conversation with Ron, a guy I’d been working with.  When Ron asked me how I’d come to be loading dog food, I explained “My wife and I believe God sent us from Cincinnati to the Gulf Coast to listen to people caught up in the storms and help them out however we could.  So here we are!”

Ron shook his head in apparent disbelief and said, “God must really be out to get me!”  When I asked what he meant, Ron told me the following story:

“I had a little farm just outside of New Orleans until everything I owned got washed away in the storm surge.  Somehow I survived until the soldiers came and evacuated me to the Astrodome.  I just sat on my cot staring at the ceiling and thinking: Oh God, I don’t think I can stand another day in this place with nothing to do.  Then a lady and her husband walked up to me.

They didn’t know me from Adam, but said they thought God wanted them to invite me to live in their house until I got back on my feet.  I was kind of suspicious at first—I even asked to see their driver’s licenses, but they turned out to be the real deal.  They helped me locate my son who I hadn’t heard from since the storm and I moved in with them a couple of days ago.  Now here you are saying God sent you from Cincinnati to listen to me.  I can’t help but think he’s trying to get my attention.

Back home in New Orleans, I’ve worked with the Humane Society for the last 30 years.  So I thought the least I could do to show my gratitude for being alive was to come down here and volunteer to help others in the best way I know how.”

As Ron and I went back to work heaving more sacks of dog food on the trailers, Ron couldn’t stop talking about how grateful he was for what God was doing in his situation.

“I’ve heard preaching all my life,” he said, “But until now, I never really believed God had much interest in me personally.  If being here is what it took to show me, I’m OK with that.”

Ron wasn’t 100 percent ready to ask Christ into his life on the spot, but he was asking tons of important questions.  He was knocking, seeking, and asking . . . and God was answering by sending him folks who were willing to do whatever it took to meet Ron where he was.  God’s love was overflowing into Ron’s world from complete strangers.  And it left Ron hungry and thirsty for more.  In our experience, that’s one of God’s favorite ways to change the world.  It’s not up to you or any of us to make it happen, it’s already happening.  God just wants us to join in.

PAY ATTENTION!

If you pay attention, God will reveal lots of simple ways to reach out to the world.  Here’s one last story for this reading. . .

Chris and a group from his congregation were visiting a church called Nuevo Pacto in Monterrey, Mexico.  Church members wanted to reach out into their community, and together with their visitors they came up with the plan of giving away free tacos and soft drinks.  So they set up their taco table near the church on an access road that runs parallel to a main road in Monterrey.  Chris tells what happened:

We made signs from old bed sheets that read, “_iHoy taco y sodas Gratis! _iMuy divertido!” (Free tacos and sodas today!  Lots of fun!)

We served up about 1,200 tacos to the 250 to 275 people who showed up, telling each one, “Christo te Ama” (Christ loves you.)

Many picked up small fliers about the Nuevo Pacto church along with their tacos.  Afterward, one man from the neighborhood kept walking around the church until the pastor invited him in.  As Pastor Renee was talking with him, the man saw a sign announcing a “buy a chair program” for church members (they were renting chairs from a local company at the time).  The man smiled and said, “Here are 200 pesos for a chair . . . I will be here to fill it this weekend.  See you Sunday.”

No matter what city or country you’re in, reaching out with lots of everyday acts of kindness and connecting people with the compassionate heart of Jesus is a really fun way to change the world.  You can be part of it if you’re willing to “put your ears on” and listen for the openings God provides.  We’ll talk about that some more in the next few readings.

Getting Your Feet Wet

Talk to God and ask him to point out some small need you might help to meet or a simple way you could add a little cheer to someone’s day.  When something simple and doable comes to mind, don’t hesitate.  Set the wheels of kindness in motion.

If nothing comes to mind, ask a friend to join you in coming up with some small act of kindness you can do together.  Again, don’t wait . . . just go and give it a try.

The Reflection Pool

Which story in this reading gave you a more positive—and achievable—out-look on reaching the world with God’s love?

• Why do you think it’s important for each Christian—individually—to take a personal interest in changing the world for God?
• How could you—or your church or small group—personally join in with what God’s already doing to reach the world with his love?