I used to let myself be challenged with the same question
that I am now being asked of from other people (perhaps a question you have even wondered). Continue reading, it will only take a
moment…
The question: Can you truly have an impact in a moment?
The reason I say I ‘used’ to be challenged with this
question, I will get to in a moment.
Presently, when I share with people about this World Race
Missionary adventure, I sometimes am being either verbally challenged (passively or
nicely by Christians) or being given a suspicious look or doubtful grin. People wonder if it is good, wise, or
even impactful to travel to 11 countries in 11 months; whether a true impact
will really be made. Interestingly
enough, it is generally the Christian community, not unbelievers, that doubt
and challenge if a real impact for Jesus can be made by moving so ‘rapidly’
around the world as I am about to do.
The reason non-believers do not generally doubt or question this
adventure is the same justification that provides rebuttal against Christians:
In a moment, anything is possible!
Think about that statement for a moment. What I know to be true is that in a moment, I can hug a
lonely person, wipe the tear from a mourning widow’s cheek, encourage a
discouraged soul, present the saving name of Jesus, or heal a broken toe. 
In a moment, God can do anything! Perhaps non-believers know the power of a moment because
they know that a moment of good action is better than a moment of non-action,
or even evil action. In a moment a
young Malaysian girl can be raped, an abusive word can be spoken to a Ukrainian
mother, or the dream of an impoverished Australian child is doubted and sneered
at by a drunken father. In a
moment anything can happen, good or bad.
This is the precise reason why I do not believe the lie that
the only good effect I, we, the Christian community, can have on our neighbors
is in the context of a long moment.
Not cherishing Naiveté, however, restrains me from encouraging solely
stand-alone moments as the only means towards having an impact for Jesus. There is the same powerful need for long-term
relationship, for many moments to be built upon each other, to prove, show, and
create lasting effects.
Nevertheless, the sneer that ‘11 countries in 11 months’ type of
missionary work will not have a true impact is a doubt of faith, a doubt of
God, and a doubt of self. In a
moment, anything is possible!
In order to act out my new belief, I had to deny my old
‘philosophy.’ I used to think, “in the next moment I’ll raise my hands at church…in the next moment I’ll do a good deed…next
time I’ll share Jesus…next time I’ll pursue a dream…in the next moment I’ll impact the
world.” Living life in
the ‘next’ moment, or believing only a ‘long-term’ moment is the only solution,
is that there becomes a reliance on the future. If I know I will be in relationship with a person, a church,
a job, etcetera for a long period of time, I rely on the ‘future’ to say
something, to encourage, to help.
But, if I know all I have is this moment, I am much more likely to bring
the future into the present. I
will seize the present moment because I know it could be the only moment I get
with the person. Relying on the
future dismantles the power of action in the present. The reason why ’11 countries in 11 months’ works, is because
in a short moment, Jesus was born, Jesus received the Holy Spirit, Jesus healed
the sick, Jesus was crucified, Jesus conquered the grave, Jesus says “follow
me.” In a moment, anything is
possible. Whether a long-term or short-term
relationship the mindset should remain the same. There is fervency to the gospel of Jesus. The moment is hardly ever
‘later.’ The moment is now, the
time for healing is now, the time for a kind word is now, the time to share
Jesus’ name is now. The
time to
impact the world is now.
The one long-term relationship ever needed is that with
Jesus.
So I challenge you, as I challenged myself several years
ago, can I make an impact in a moment? Can I seize a moment for Jesus? Can I do something rather than nothing?
Can I make an impact in a moment?
And can’t those moments add up to a lifetime of impact? I believe in a moment…do you?
