I am gripped by biographies of men and women who impacted their generation for Christ. One of my heroes of the faith is D. L. Moody. He was one of the greatest revivalists of the 19th century. One day, Henry Varley, a close friend and fellow evangelist, said to him, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him.” Those words impacted Dwight Moody more than anyone could imagine. After thinking about what his friend said, he responded by saying, “Well, I will be that man!”. And he surely was. From that day on, Moody gave himself passionately to the Lord and thousands came to Christ through his ministry.
Today, in my devotional time, I was reading in Ezekiel, and my eyes stopped on the 30th verse of chapter 22, it reads: “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” Once again this verse almost brought me to tears as I saw how God was so reluctant to bring judgment against the land and yet all that was needed was someone to stand as an intercessor before Him. Just one person, who was concerned enough to stop his other activities and interests, to stand in the gap. It is so sad to read the last part of that verse, “but I found none.”
God did find Paul, though blinded by his religious zeal, when his eyes were opened this one life was mightily used by the Lord. Paul writes: “By one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19) Of course, Paul is referring to how sin entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam and righteousness through Christ, yet I believe we can apply it here to the impact any one of us has. Just one life can influence many to sin and rebel against God, or one person can influence many to come the Christ. Each life has a domino effect on others. Just as one witness can bring a Billy Graham to Christ or an offensive word or action can cause an Adolf Hitler to raise up. One person can make the difference in so many others’ lives.
We should never underestimate the power within a seed. As the saying goes: you can count how many seeds are in an apple, but you cannot count how many apples are in a seed. In several of the “seed” parables that are found in the Gospels, the seed refers to the Word of God. This is powerful when you consider the effect that the preaching of the Word of God has on the course of peoples’ lives. But in the book of Matthew there is a parable of the seed as being the “sons of the kingdom”. (Matthew 13:38) Let’s try to imagine ourselves as being sown into the world. We are of another realm. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are sent into situations in which there are weeds all around us, yet our spiritual DNA is so powerful that we can actually make a difference in the world.
Just one life, just one seed, that is all God needs. There is no life that is insignificant. Each one of us has the potential to be a history-maker. No matter what our placement, position, or ability, we can bear fruit. The eyes of the Lord are looking for just one who will wholly commit himself to God. Can you respond as Moody did? “Well, I will be that man!”
Scriptures to meditate on:
Romans 5:12-19; Ezekiel 22:30; John 3:16; Matthew 13:38; Mark 4:13-20