Have this attitude in yourselves which
was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not
regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the
form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and
bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of
Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. (Philippians
2:5-11)
I came across
this several years ago and found it again while doing some research. It is called One Solitary Life and was taken from a sermon by Dr. James Allen
Francis in 1926.
He
was born in an obscure village
The
child of a peasant woman
He
grew up in another obscure village
Where
he worked in a carpenter shop
Until
he was thirty
He
never wrote a book
He
never held an office
He
never went to college
He
never visited a big city
He
never travelled more than two hundred miles
From
the place where he was born
He
did none of the things
Usually
associated with greatness
He
had no credentials but himself
He
was only thirty three
His
friends ran away
One
of them denied him
He
was turned over to his enemies
And
went through the mockery of a trial
He
was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While
dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The
only property he had on earth
When
he was dead
He
was laid in a borrowed grave
Through
the pity of a friend
Nineteen
centuries have come and gone
And
today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And
the leader of mankind's progress
All
the armies that have ever marched
All
the navies that have ever sailed
All
the parliaments that have ever sat
All
the kings that ever reigned put together
Have
not affected the life of mankind on earth
As
powerfully as that one solitary life
Don’t
believe me? Without looking on the
internet, list the top five most popular athletes, movie stars, and musicians
from 10 years ago. How many can you come
up with? Most of us might be able to
come up with a couple. Those that are
big fans in a particular area might be able to come up with more, but not by
much. Too easy? How about 20 years ago? 30?
Gets harder the further back you go doesn’t it?
True, some
of these people have used their influence in a positive way to help with
various charities and other organizations but I think most would agree it is
not the majority. Even with those that
do, most of that influence gets diluted or even completely washed away by time. Ultimately very few have a very far reaching
effect on people’s lives, much less the world.
Why does
Jesus have influence today, almost 2,000 years after He walked the Earth? I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge
that some of this influence is definitely because of who He is, the Son of
God. But I think it is much more than
that.
Jesus
taught us how to love one another and how to serve each other. He demonstrated obedience to God’s will in
His life and, through His death, fulfilled His purpose for coming to dwell with
us. Jesus showed us there is a better
way to live our lives. He also showed us
we could have a relationship with Him. And
He did this not by just telling us how to do it, Jesus lived it. Everywhere He went, in everything He did.
Jesus has
had more impact on mankind for good than any other person. Jesus changes lives because it is not just
about serving God and those around us, it is about relationships that make us
better people.
Jesus
lived servant leadership and we are called to following His footsteps. Allow Jesus to come in and change your life. Live the life you were meant to live and have
an impact.
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