Most secular historians generally agree that approximately one thousand nine hundred and eighty five days ago a thirty three year old man, named by his followers as Jesus the Christ, was executed as prescribed by a sentence given by the Roman prefect of Judaea. Thirty one percent of the world’s population still believe that three days after he died he overcame death, rose from the tomb, and continued his ministry.
Those same historians agree that this man was a traveling minister that was active for a period of about three years. So effectively, in three trips from Jerusalem to Galilee and back again he was able to establish a following that would be the greatest religious movement that the world has ever seen. I am not going to try to reason out if the resurrection actually occurred or not. What I want to focus is on the moment.
Jesus and his followers assembled outside of Jerusalem’s walls in a area at the base of the Mount of Olives, now called the Garden of Gethsemane. Although I am not certain of the details, it is clear that Jesus had a choice to make. He could run, or he could face his accusers. If you believe any of the accounts of this moment, he agonized over this decision – but ultimately decided to be who he was supposed to be. He was tried, convicted and died a few days later.
This moment has impacted our society for generations. Wars have been fought, cathedrals have been built, crusades organized, and countries established all because of this one moment. The impact is undeniable. We can have a lot of fun debating if this Jesus was the Son of God, or the Messiah, or even God himself, or a really good preacher, or just a really inspirational fanatic but the point is when he decided to take up the cross and face his accusers – the world changed forever.
There are others that have had their moments. In three days from now we will remember that 50 years ago, a man decided to get up off his hotel room bed, walk past his entourage, step out on to the balcony of the Lorraine hotel and stand directly across from the man that would pull the trigger that would end his life. The supporters of the sanitation workers strike would never hear the thoughts he had scribbled down on the notepad in his pocket. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life would spill from him and permanently stain that spot on the balcony but his words would remain forever.
One hundred and twenty five years ago today, a young Indian lawyer bought a first class ticket to ride from Durban to Pretoria so that he could go to work. As he sat by himself in his seat, a British man complained that he did not want to share the compartment with a “coolie.” The authorities asked him to get off the train. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi says that he had a moment to decide what to do. He says that he decided to do his duty and refused to leave the train. He was thrown off the train and thus the moment that sparked a revolution ignited a whole country.
You may or may not have a moment that will impact the entire world as these three individuals did, but you can have a moment that will change your life and the life of the generations that follow you. Before you think that you are insignificant, just realize the impact that one moment can have on your family and the generations of people that will come. I have three children. If they maintain the U.S Average and their life expectancy stays the average then in the next 100 years there will be four generations to follow me. By approximation, I will have fifty direct descendants in 100 years. In another 100 years those individuals will produce nearly one thousand descendants.
This is just counting direct family members, start adding in spouses and all the people they know and come in contact with and your influence could be extremely significant. What is the moment going to be that these descendants will remember about you? If Great Grandma or Great Grandpa had not done this one thing, we might not all be where we are at today. What is that legacy going to be? I have some ancestors that there is one moment, or one story still remembered. In some cases those stories have lasted 4 – 6 generations. How long will your story last?
Everyday when you wake up you have a chance to create the moment that generations of people will remember and be grateful for. Are you ready for that moment? Jesus was. Dr. King was. Gandhi was. Will you?
Guy Reams (85)
365 Member
