World-Changers

I have been pondering Deuteronomy 7:6 – “For you are a special people who belong to the Lord your God.”

The Lord has His special people on the earth – and you can be one of them! Bill Bright called these special people “world-changers.”

Romans 4 from the Bible tells me that any one who chooses to be a follower of Jesus Christ is a “special person” who can become a world-changer.

What is one of God’s “special people”, a world-changer, supposed to do?

Last week I was watching members of a local high school football team work out –doing exercises and running through drills in preparation for the upcoming season. It dawned upon me that these young fellows were “special people”. They are members of the football team, and will be representing the local school in athletic competition this fall. They are different, set apart from the remainder of the student body. Their time is spent differently: in practice after school hours, in games on Fridays and in watching film on Saturdays. Their exercise habits are different: they go through grueling practices every week day. Their eating habits are probably different, also: eating lots of protein for muscle-building and carbohydrates for energy and stamina.

God’s special people have also been set apart from the rest of humankind, and represent Him before the watching world. God’s special people make a difference in their world. That is what makes them world changers.

Don’t you love the thought of being a world changer?

God’s special people possess the indwelling presence of God himself, the Holy Spirit. This Presence reveals itself from time to time, especially in difficult moments. God’s special people possess a wisdom (derived from knowledge of the Bible), an inner strength (derived from the Lord’s presence), and a positive outlook (derived from faith, hope and love). These are qualities all people desire, but only the believer has them in abundance and perpetually.

The world changer also has a God-given desire to serve. His or her motive is to glorify God and provide benefits to mankind. Consequently there is service in the community and friendship extended to others, especially those deemed undesirable by society: the poor, the elderly, the widows and orphans. God’s special people, the world-changers, desire to see certain virtues, as expressed in the Ten Commandments, prevail in society. The world-changers are convinced that the practice of these virtues will promote liberty and justice, eliminating tyranny and oppression. World changers will conduct gatherings to offer worship and praise to the God who has birthed them to eternal life. They teach illiterate people how to read and write. They teach healthy practices and establish hospitals in remote areas of the earth. They teach primitive tribal groups modern agricultural practices and proper nutrition.

Most amazing of all is the perspective on life these special people possess. They speak of another world yet to come, even while serving effectively in this world. . This other world is called “heaven”. These special people speak of dwelling in the actual presence of God forever in this coming world and actively solicit others to join them. They quote Jesus, for example, who said “What will it profit a person if he should gain the entirety of this (temporal) world, yet lose his (eternal) soul?” from Matthew 16:26.

Yep, for sure God has His special people.

And for sure they are world-changers.