What difference do we make anyway? Whether it’s parenting, in our work or school, or other social circles, we can and do have an effect on other people. Sometimes we see the effects of our influence. Other times not so much. We may never know if we influenced some people for good or ill.
The title quote came from an article written a few years ago about Edward Kimball. “Who?” you ask?
Kimball was a Sunday school teacher who not only prayed for the hyper boys in his class but also sought to win each one to the Lord personally. He decided he would be intentional with every single last one of them. Surely he thought about throwing in the towel. If you have ever taught the Bible to young boys, you know that the experience can often be like herding cats.
One young man, in particular, didn’t seem to understand what the gospel was about so Kimball went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and confronted him in the stock room with the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That young man was Dwight L. Moody. In the stockroom on that Saturday, he believed the gospel and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. In his lifetime, Moody touched two continents for God, with thousands professing Christ through his ministry.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Yeah, the chain connecting Kimball to some very influential (in a good way) people is quite remarkable. And as the writer says, “If you are like most people, you have served in some capacity and wondered at times if you were making a real difference or not. Maybe you’ve thought about quitting because you didn’t think you were making any difference.”
So, let’s be found doing the things we’re called by God to do and trust Him to use them now, or later. Maybe much later. For His glory!
Read the rest of Kimball’s story HERE to see where it led.
I think that we all have faced the issue if we really are making a difference but we have to put all of our trust in god and be willing to follow his lead. A huge thing that we will face is patience because mostly we want everything on our time and we need to remember that god’s timing is the best for us. I think that we don’t want to be put in uncomfortable situations but that’s the best part because I feel that’s when god will use us the most to really reach out to others and reveal to them that over anything else we only can truly put our trust in him