The Plan

My interview at the Cheesecake Factory was pretty intense. They didn't just ask me questions about my past serving experience. They asked about my leadership abilities, how my past life experiences qualified me for being a good leader, what my weaknesses were and how I was working on changing them, etc. It definitely wasn't like any secular job interview I've ever had! And then they got to the one question that has consumed my life for the past seven years: "Do you think that one person can change the world?"

Do I believe that one person can change the world? So much depth in one question. To say no brings a hopeless feeling of reality to the chest of anyone who hears it. But to say yes means that you now have great things expected of you. To say yes means that you yourself can change the world. You are not just a person, going through life, only to die and end up in the dirt. Oh no, my friend. You are a legacy. You plan to do extraordinary things.

It's a hard question. It's a hard answer. Because to say yes means you have to do something to back it up.

I love the story of Esther. She was a Jewish orphan girl, living in exile with her cousin in a society that looked down on women. Yet through this amazing series of events, she becomes queen and ends up doing impossible things in order to save her people from annihilation. One girl faced death and saved a nation. If this girl, in an impossible society and impossible situation can do all that...why can I? Why can't we?

Do I believe that one person can change the world. The answer would be a resounding yes. With all my heart and soul, I do believe that one person can do extraordinary things. I do believe that one person can change a society, a nation, the entire world.

I know what you're thinking. How? How do you propose to do this impossible thing? The world is too big for one person! Good question. That's what I've been trying to figure out for seven years. Here's what I've come up with (with a little help from Dr. Arnett at CBC):

Let's say you, as a disciple of Christ, took one whole year to pour into one person. Teach them about life, about God, about community, about love, about death, about Christ...after one whole year, including yourself, you would have two disciples of Christ. Let's say that next year, you and that other person each poured into someone else. At the end of that year, you would have a total of four people who loved God. If this kept happening, if each year this doubled, at the end of 5 years you would have a community of 32 disciples of Christ. It may not seem like much. But if this kept happening, at the end of 20 years you would have a community of one million, forty-eight thousand, five hundred seventy-six people who loved Jesus with all their heart.

Did you hear that? ONE MILLION, FORTY-EIGHT THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX PEOPLE!

And all that started with one person.

Imagine if each of us did this....

.....

....

....okay sorry, I quit breathing for a second. Because to picture that many people on fire for God is the most amazing thing I can think of.

So yes. I do believe one person can change the world. I'm doing it right now. One person at a time. What about you? Do you believe one person can change the world? What are you going to do about it?

~Hannah

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