We all know George Washington was one of our founding fathers and the first president of the United States. Even before I moved to Georgia, I knew that James Oglethorpe was one of the instigators of an idea to create a colony giving debtors and other ‘unfortunates’ of England a chance to start afresh in the ‘new world.’ I guess I had lived in Atlanta eight or ten years before I learned my county was named after Button Gwinnett, one of three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Only last week did I learn of his unfortunate death. Within one year of signing the declaration, another Georgian named Lachlan McIntosh called Gwinnett “a scoundrel and lying rascal.” If Button had simply recited the “Sticks and Stones” verse and ignored the insult he might have lived a lot longer. Instead, he challenged McIntosh to a duel which resulted in a terrible wound. He died three days later.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and earth and does not live in temples made with hands… From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” (Acts 17:24-26)
This goes for George Washington, Button Gwinnett, and me and you. When I get a little sad at the realization I probably won’t make it into any History books, I remember there are quite a few people in our country who know nothing at all about Button Gwinnett and even more on this planet who have never even heard of George Washington. Truly, the only Person that needs to be known by every individual on earth is the One who saves our souls.
I’m not positive but there may be one place I have visited that had never heard the name of Jesus. My son, Taylor, and I were with a missionary in a remote village in Benin, West Africa. I couldn’t understand the language, but it seemed a real possibility that the Good News was being proclaimed there for the very first time. There are places on this earth today where Jesus is totally unknown and a few bold believers are praying “Here I am, send me” to fulfill the will of the Father that all men find him. The next verse from the Acts passage above says: “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”
The disciple’s place in history is to point to the One everything revolves around – the King, the great High Priest, the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ. There needs be no goal of “making a name for myself” when Jesus is the One who deserves to be famous. Most of the people we meet have heard of Jesus but may not realize the urgent need to know him. A missionary friend in Sweden recently shared in an e-mail that only 1% of the population of Sweden regularly attends church. In a survey done among the Swedish youth, 99% said they would consider going to church if they thought there would be some relevance to their lives. The missionary’s next sentence was: “Come Lord!”
Jesus came and lived and taught who God really is… “but his own did not receive him.” Today his ambassadors are not only given the task of proclaiming the Name through whom all can be saved, but we are charged to live in such a way as to demonstrate relevance. Does my faith make a difference in the time and place where I live? Only if I adopt the attitude of John the Baptist as Jesus came on the scene: “He must become greater; I must become less.” As we give up ‘self’, Jesus shines all the brighter. “Come Lord!”
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)