Matt Gooch

 

Imagine that thought, you are standing on that penalty spot, world cup final, extra time has passed and it is down to penalties. Whole countries have stopped to watch and the whole of England is holding it's breath, get this right, score this goal and England have won the world cup for the first time since 1966, get this right and you become more famous than Beckham. This one kick will have changed history and will send millions of people into ecstasy all this from one kick lasting about a second

 

It's a big ask; isn't it? That amount of pressure on one moment to change world history.  Fortunately the chances are that no-one reading this will ever be in that position. Well, not exactly the same position anyway.  However we can all change the world. The Bible talks about being salt and light, salt bringing flavour, or to preserve or to heal and light to show the way to bring someone out of darkness. Of course this doesn't come with the same amount of pressure attached to it as winning the world cup but the challenge is there that if we live our lives in a Godly manner seeking to serve him we can make an incredible difference in the communities that we live in. I have the privilege of being in the position of running a youth project where we encourage churches to work with young people. Often I hear from church members that they have nothing to offer younger people, but of course this isn't true! If we are being salt and light we simply have to “be” and that presence will rub off on those around us, whatever the age.  Living lives full of these “one moments” can change the world that we live in

 

I am sure that we can all think back to people who through one simple act have had a lasting impact on us and have made us who we are. Very often we can find that it is the simple acts, sometimes the ones we don't even know that we have done that can cause more of a lasting impact than even scoring the winning goal at the word cup

 

When Jesus walked on this earth, he spent his life touching the lives of individuals, bringing restoration and healing, changing people’s lives for the better, very often these encounters were very short but the effect was incredible. Jesus life just oozed love, he was full of compassion, full of grace and full of life transformation power

 

Many people who follow Jesus today will talk of that very same power that they have encountered when they have just seen a glimpse of Jesus. The sad thing is so many people don't even bother to consider what Jesus has to say. It is funny to think, as awesome as it will be to see England win the world cup; it is nothing compared with what Jesus has done for us. The world will go mad for the world cup spending hours watching, often spending a lot of money buying tickets or merchandise to expedience the thrill of the kick of a ball. How much time will you spend to consider the impact of one man on the world and the difference he could have to your life?