Make a Difference

It was lunchtime. Linda had bought a hamburger in a crowded McDonalds, surrounded by strangers. She and her husband had moved to California a month earlier because of his new job and Linda was lonely. Standing alone in McDonalds made her feel more isolated. No one’s eyes met, which reminded her of her own “disconnectedness.” As she stood holding her tray, no one offered to share a table; so she waited for an empty one and finally sat down, brooding silently over her situation.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man walked in and called out, “Is there a Bob Maxwell here?”

A man at a nearby table stood up, looking puzzled. “Yes? I’m Bob Maxwell.”

The two men huddled in a brief discussion and the middle-aged man left after a hearty handshake and a slap on the back. Bob Maxwell sat down, shaking his head. “Can you believe that?” he kept saying. “I feel like I’ve met the original Good Samaritan.” It turned out that he had dropped his bank envelope in the parking lot. Over two hundred dollars and two blank checks were inside.

Suddenly everyone was smiling, commenting on the man’s good deed. A lady at the table next to Linda said, “Amazing, isn’t it? How one person changed the atmosphere of this whole place.”

As Linda looked up, she saw a woman who was waiting for a table. Catching her eye, Linda patted the empty chair near her and said to the woman, “Would you like to share my table?”

It is amazing how one person can change things. Have you stopped to consider what impact you have on the situations in which you find yourself? Consider how much a kind word, or a helping hand, or a reassuring smile would change the atmosphere of so many places and the attitudes of so many people.

What impact could you have upon someone who feels ‘disconnected,” or lonely, or forgotten? What would happen if you made a phone call or wrote a note of encouragement, or made a brief visit this week? It is amazing how one person can change things.

As Christians, we know that one person has made a significant difference in our lives. Because of the difference Jesus Christ has made in our lives, we have the opportunity and the privilege to make a difference in the lives of the people around us.

Take the next two minutes to think of one person who is “disconnected” from the family or the church or from God. Pray for that person. Pray for his or her well-being. Decide upon one act of kindness that would make a difference in his or her life. Now, one day this week, make that difference become real.

What difference will you make? I pray that your Christian witness will make a difference in Glendale, Nashville, and around the world.

-Tim Bias