Change The World

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well this morning. I’m sorry to say that I faltered on my three times a week blogging last week. Part of the reason I faltered was that I thinking very intently about what I wanted to write. I hope the wait was worth it for all of you today.

In 1996 a movie came out called “A Time To Kill” which was based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. In the movie Matthew McConaughey plays a lawyer by the name of Jake Brigance who is charged with defending Samuel L. Jackson’s character Carl Lee Bailey who is accused of killing a man who raped his daughter. In the movie Donald Sutherland plays Jake’s mentor and friend Lucien Wilbanks, a lawyer who has been disbarred because of his behavior. In one of my favorite scenes in this movie Jake goes to visit Lucien for some advice on defending Carl Lee and Lucien reminds Jake of what he told him when he began training him as a lawyer by saying…

“I can not promise you riches. What I can offer you the chance to save the world one case at a time.”

I love this line because it shows the man’s passion for the law and for changing the world for the better. Believe it or not Donald Sutherland was reflecting Christ in his admonition to Jake. Jesus said it this way.

Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus was telling his disciples to change the world one soul at a time. In that admonition to his disciples he never promises them riches but he encourages them to go out and change the world. The admonition is the same for us today. When people ask me why I am a youth minister I tell them that I want the opportunity to save the world one teen at a time. People might think this is just Paul being overly optimistic but really when people are working with teenagers they are changing the world.

You might think that teenagers are not listening to you, and sometimes they may not be, but by simple virtue of the fact they are at an activity the world is different. When we have church camps in the summer the world is changed because these teenagers are being exposed to ideas they have never heard before and being challenged to live a life better than the status quo. The same can be said for adults to an extent. When an adult chooses to come to a worship service then their life is different, they may choose to ignore what they hear but by simply hearing what is said the world is a different place.

I challenge you to change the world today! Do what Jesus was telling his disciples to do and share his message with the world around you. I hope you are all blessed today. I know you have all blessed me.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul