We hear about prominent figures, television personalities, world leaders, famous authors. But most of us are ordinary people – not famous. We care about the state of our world as we hear of countries being ravaged and individuals without food, water, medicine. We sigh as the news highlights tragedies in our own communities. Many ordinary people care about showing God’s love in practical ways. So, a question we ask: How can I ever make a difference in this huge world? I’m one of the ordinary people!
Global Questions Ordinary People Ask
We already identified a main question ordinary people often ask – How can I ever make a difference in this huge world? Followers of Jesus should be asking questions. Maybe you’ve asked some of them, yourself:
- How can I help change the world in practical ways?
- How can I make a difference in my community?
- Can my skills and passions be utilized to help build hope and supply needs?
- How do I make a global difference in regions of the world far beyond my reach?
- I feel so small compared to the massive work that must be done –
- Humanitarian aid needed, world-wide. People are hungry and don’t have clean water. They lack medicines and medical care to address sickness and disease.
- With so much division and political upheaval – nations, communities, and families need a stable foundation. They need to know how to live balanced lives, to manage resources, and to be healthy and productive.
- People are lost! They don’t know Jesus loves them and came to save them from sin and hell. They need someone to tell them about Jesus – and then train them in God’s ways.
What About You?
Where did you find yourself in those questions? What does your part look like with so many diverse people? How can you help make communities better, provide practical help, touch a world for Christ? How do you effectively set aside differences to achieve common goals?
Trying to help address global problems seems like continual crisis management.
I think it helps to start where God starts. Here are some ideas He came up with.
Differentness Of Ordinary People
1. Your differentness is God’s brilliant, original design.
He made you different than any other person – with a unique personality, individual skill sets, custom-designed passions, very specific purposes. And it pleased Him.
2. Your differentness is intended to enhance unity, not create division.
Since Christ is not divided, He has a plan that encompasses all personalities, abilities, skill sets, and view-points He created. God’s brilliant strategies involve each individual and organization. His agenda is to gather up the globe’s greatest treasure: human souls!
3. Agreeing with each other in Jesus’ name is not so hard . . . not really!
Best results occur when ordinary people strategize using God’s Word. We often don’t see the full picture as we build together. But God sees it. When we agree with God, we are also agreeing with each other.
- This includes aligning our strategies with His principles.
- It means being humble – not stubborn with your own agenda.
- Being “open to receive” helps build with others.
- Flexibility is a must to work with a team.
- Being creative enough to involve ideas that feel foreign may open doors.
- Seeing the value of each person’s uniqueness welcomes diversity.
4. “Differentness” is needed to put the puzzle of God’s work together, globally.
Making a global difference is like a puzzle Parts that are identical don’t connect together well. They stack and they line up neatly. But they are not effective because they don’t “fit” into one another. They need an “opposite puzzle piece” to join to.
This differentness completes the partnership of our work together to make a difference in Jesus’ name. Together, we can put the global puzzle together.
Individual Puzzle Pieces
Your “individualness” matters, even as an ordinary person. But your part looks different than other person’s (or organization’s) parts. That’s God’s strategic design. Different pieces interconnect. We just need to find one another and deeply appreciate our different shapes. God knows how the puzzle will look. Putting many ordinary pieces together can make an extraordinary picture! So –
- Focus on “being” exactly who God created.
- Work on “hearing” His quiet, powerful voice.
- Pray for wisdom and God’s guidance.
- Engage your skills and get experience so you can provide more, globally.
Puzzle pictures become increasingly engaging as they are assembled. Sometimes you might work a border with others. Another time, you may form a corner or center portion that becomes clear enough to define. Still, there are times you search and search for missing pieces that seem to be hiding. There is joy in finding, placing, strategizing, partnering. Your contribution as an ordinary person makes such a difference in the whole picture.
Without you, the final picture has a hole.
Global Diversity
Again, let’s just say – global diversity starts where God starts. Here are more of His ideas:
- Every nation, people group, and culture matters to the global community.
- These collective groups are made up of individuals – many of them ordinary global citizens – like you and me.
- Every individual matters to God, has eternal value, and should be treated with respect.
- Each person should have freedom to “be” who God created them to be.
- Accepting one another as fellow global citizens is critical to accomplish the extraordinary task of a healthy world.
- Each individual must welcome and embrace team work with eager expectation for what God is doing.
- The Lord purposefully doesn’t reveal His full plan because it promotes two agendas important to Him:
- Living and serving by faith.
- Working in unity with His Body.
Relevant and Reasonable Action Steps
Integrating Your Life With The World
As an ordinary person, it takes pensive exploration to see how your life fits into a world scenario. Because you are a global citizen, explore how to integrate a meaningful life for yourself and pour into making the world a better place for others.
As ordinary people ponder how approaches, methods, and resources can promote unity and practical action steps, global citizens joined across the world can accomplish the enormous scope of the task.
Since you (and I) have limited wisdom, two things help gain it:
- Spend daily time in God’s Word. It’s packed with wisdom.
- Pray for God’s direction to become a partner with practical compassion for many hurting people – and to fulfill the Great Commission.
Your Inner Reflections And Desires
Your inner reflections and desires are important. God gave them to you. But if you experience them only inside you, they have little effect on the world. They can be devotional for you – but it does nothing for anyone else. How can your life affect a huge globe? Connect with your design, and move globally in a constructive manner.
Build Up And Edify
God wants to build up and edify:
- you,
- others,
- nations,
- daily events of the world.
The model prayer Jesus taught His disciples starts with, “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” And it ends with, ”For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.”
So connect your design with God first.
God Deeply Cares
God cares for all His children – for you. So many people are suffering and lost. Jesus sacrificed Himself for all people, globally, across all centuries. He invites each of us to partner with Him in His reach to others. It may be in another country. But it might be down your street!
Practical Ways To Engage Relevant and Reasonable Action Steps
Since we want to be practical as we engage relevant and reasonable action steps, here are some ideas to prime 
your pump as an ordinary, caring, global citizen:
- Start defining your individual skill sets, strengths, and available resources.
- Explore creative ways to employ those blessings in your community and the world. This may mean connecting with global organizations that network around the world.
- Explore how your unique resources and life can engage other lives in practical ways.
- Define how to develop and implement your personal skills.
- Calendar time to partner with organizations that get the job done.
- Pray! The Lord promises to answer and guide you as you seek and trust Him.
- Claim Scriptures the Lord lays on your heart as He takes you through this process.
- Be willing to step outside your comfort zone and do things that may feel scary.
- Choose two things: be humble, do not be afraid.
Best results are determined when you prayerfully set a direction and target your portion to make a global difference – as an ordinary person.
Application Thoughts And Questions
The above ideas and action steps provide your practical application for this content. So, to engage these action steps, go back through this material and seriously ask yourself what you can and will do to be an ordinary, caring global partner. Creatively use your mind, skill set, resources, and experience to make a global difference.
Partner With God.
You Can Do This.
Why not be a global partner, even as an ordinary person?
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