Making a Difference is More than Just a Day

More than Just a Day- It’s an Opportunity

“We all have opportunities every day to change the world, whether we’re adopting a Highway to patrol for litter or volunteering at a local shelter to help the homeless.

It’s amazing what just a small effort by an individual or group of individuals can do to change the world or at least their local neighborhood. Make a difference Day was established to help encourage us to take one day a year to try to make a difference in the world.” - https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/make-a-difference-day/

In our 21-Century secularized society, some are so sensitive to the presence of religion in the public square that they would sanitize any and all references to religion as if the idea of God was toxic to humanity’s existence. Of course, for most of recorded human history, the opposite was true. Regardless of its validity, one of the main reasons for the Roman persecution of Christians was the false notion that they were “atheists.” When the early Christian martyr, Polycarp, was about to die, he was offered his freedom on the condition that he would reject Christianity:

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3344 Martyrdom of Polycarp

Polycarp, venerable bishop of Smyrna was a personal friend and pupil of John the Apostle. When he was age 86, he was urged by the Roman proconsul to reproach Christ and be set free.

“Eighty and six years have I served Him and He never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”

The proconsul said: “I have respect for your age. Simply say, “Away with the Atheists” and be set free.” Polycarp solemnly said, “Away with the Atheists”—pointing to the pagan crowd.

He joyfully went to the stake, thanking God for counting him worthy to be numbered among the martyrs.

The Bible speaks to us from two perspectives. The Law declares God’s will concerning how we are to live before Him and with our neighbor. Its theme is simple, “He who does these things shall live by them.” The Gospel declares God’s will concerning what He has done for us in the person of “Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” It’s theme is also simple: This is how God loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. His resurrection showed that we have been justified before God, and are now able to live in fellowship with God because Christ died for us.

That God desires us to live in community is evidenced from the first book of the Bible - Genesis.

Genesis 2:18–22 ESV

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Whatever we have come to think of one another since that event, in the beginning, it was clearly understood that we are not designed to live in solitude or to act as if we are the only ones who matter. Jesus was questioned by a lawyer regarding “the great commandment in the Law.”

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, in writing to the Christians in Rome, discussed the relationship of Christians to earthly governments in . In it, he said two things: first, that governmental authority is of divine origin, rather than a human creation. Secondly, that with great authority comes great responsibility - no, that was not Stan Lee’s idea.

Romans 13:1–5 ESV

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

He then moves from our relationship to those who are tasked, in the words of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” to our relationship to one another. In so doing, Paul picked up on Jesus’ idea that our “neighbor” is not defined by his physical location, but by the fact that we are brought into a connection to one another. In essence, your neighbor is the person who provides you with the opportunity to “love your neighbor as yourself.” That person might be next door, it might be someone who comes across your path, or it could be someone that you don’t even see, but know of their situation that calls for your assistance.

Romans 13:8–10 ESV

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

There is a difference between the negative “you shall not” and the positive “you shall.” The negative allows you to seek out the boundaries beyond which you are a transgressor. The Law does not make you a good citizen; it only shows when you are not a good citizen. It presupposes that you would do unloving things if left to your own devices. The positive instructs you in the way of being a good citizen. It presupposes that you want to love your neighbor. Lutheran teaching, as presented in the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord,

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions Affirmative Statements

6 If God’s believing and elect children were completely renewed in this life by the indwelling Spirit, so that in their nature and all its powers they were entirely free from sin, they would not need any law. They would need no one to motivate them, either. They would do by themselves, and completely voluntarily, without any instruction, admonition, urging or driving of the Law, what they are in duty bound to do according to God’s will.

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions Affirmative Statements

7 However, believers are not renewed in this life perfectly or completely. Their sin is covered by Christ’s perfect obedience, so that it is not charged against believers for condemnation. Also, the putting to death of the old Adam [Romans 6:6] and the renewal in the spirit of their mind [Ephesians 4:23] is begun through the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, the old Adam still clings to them in their nature and all its inward and outward powers.

Here then is our dilemma: we recognize that we ought to help one another; we even want to help one another. We also want to take care of ourselves, we want to do good for ourselves, and sometimes, we want to not be saddled with the responsibility of caring for others. We hope that someone else will take care of those around us, maybe the government, maybe the wealthy, maybe the church - but maybe not our church because we have so many needs of our own....

So people like Donna Renee Evans-Patikas come alongside to remind us, and ideas like “Make a Difference Day” give us opportunities, to focus on things that we might otherwise neglect because of the weakness of our fallen human nature. Today is not a day to beat yourself up for what you haven’t done, but to encourage you regarding what you can do, both as individuals, and as part of your various communities, both sacred and secular. In the end, as a person who believes in the reality and especially, in the loving-kindness and daily mercy of God, all communities exist under God, and are both responsible to him, and cared for by Him, providing the things that are needful for their existence and operation under Him. Therefore, in the words of Paul, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all… and the peace of God, that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.