Who would you guess has more influence in our world?
Cristiano Ronaldo,
Selena Gomez,
Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson,
Beyonce',
or you?
I mentioned those specific celebrities
because each one ranks in the top ten
of the most followed people on Instagram.
Each one of them has well over 100,000,000 followers.
I don't know how you compare,
but last time I checked, I have
277.
This week we're talking about living strangely
in what some people refer to as "the age of outrage".
And in the age of outrage, it's normal to assume that the way
to measure the impact that something has,
is by how many people see it or how many people hear it.
The bigger the platform,
the bigger the influence.
It's normal to assume, it's natural to assume
that someone with 100,000,000 followers, of course they have more influence
than someone who has 277.
To think otherwise
would be strange.
But if so,
then strange would be the perfect word to describe much of Jesus' behavior.
Yes, there were times when Jesus had a platform.
And times when he used it.
On more than one occasion,
the number of people who were gathered around to hear Jesus talk
covered an entire hillside.
But there were plenty of other times when Jesus deliberately
walked away from the crowds.
And while he didn't always seek out a platform,
he did always make enough time, even for just
one person.
One specific example really sticks out in my mind.
Jesus had already deliberately decided to
travel through foreign country,
outside of Israel's borders
where he was less known and less popular.
Apparently there was some sort of crowd that was still with him at the time.
But then a group of people brought a friend
who couldn't hear
and couldn't speak.
And rather than
some impressive display to
dazzle the crowd,
Jesus took the man away
from the rest of the people who were there.
And rather than just snapping his fingers to sort of
get it over with and make it better,
no, Jesus took the time
to communicate with him
in the only way that he could.
With sign language.
He touched his ears.
He touched his tongue
to let him know
that he knew exactly what was wrong.
He looked up to heaven and he let out a deep sigh
to express sympathy and sadness.
And then even after he healed him,
Jesus ordered the crowd not to tell anyone
what they had seen.
I think modern day productivity gurus
would criticize Jesus for wasting so much time with just one person.
I think that modern day publicity experts
would scold Jesus for not seizing an opportunity
to build up his personal brand.
All of it seems very, very strange.
But, you know, Jesus does the very same thing with you.
Jesus doesn't say to us,
"I know you want to spent time with me.
"But lots of people do.
"There are lots of people who are out there.
"So, tell you what.
"How about the whole human race just appoints one person
"that represents all of you.
"And that one person can come and talk to me and I'll talk to them."
He doesn't say,
"Tell you what. If you get enough people all together in the same place,
"let's say you fill up a football stadium
"full of people,
"then I'll go ahead and make an appearance."
No. Jesus says,
"No matter who.
"No matter where.
"No matter when.
"And no matter what.
"I'll make enough time just for you."
In fact he promises,
I know it sounds strange,
but in the age of outrage,
strange is exactly what our world needs.
It's very normal for us to want to impact
all of society on the most important issues of our day.
It's very normal
to assume that the way we can have that sort of influence
is with a big platform.
With lots of people listening
and watching.
And yet, I don't think it's an accident that
when I read through the instructions that
Jesus gives us in the Bible,
I don't hear a lot of him saying,
"Go out and change society.
"Go out and save the planet.
"Go out and make the world a better place."
But I do hear him saying a lot of things like,
"Love your neighbor."
Not millions and millions of people scattered all over the world, but,
but just one.
Whoever happens to be closest at the time.
Whatever that person happens to need
at the time.
And whatever dose of Jesus' love
might be the solution to the problem they're facing.
I know it sounds strange, but,
but it's strange exactly like Jesus was.
And it's strange exactly like the world needs us to be.
Let's pray.
Dear Jesus, we thank you
that no matter how busy you were
or how much you had on your mind,
you always had time for just one.
And you always have time for just us.
Help us see opportunities for influence
in the individuals you have placed right in front
of us in our lives.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
I'm guessing it's safe to say
that someone using their platform
to launch into some tirade
has never really made that all that much of an impact on you.
But I'm also guessing that there's been a time when someone
took time out of their busy schedule
to be there when you really needed it.
If so, and if you'd like to share, feel free to comment below.
You can even mention that person
and thank them for the impact they had.