We’ve all heard the saying, ‘One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.’ This is usually how we define the power of one. So much bad can come from just one person. Look at Adolf Hitler – one man with an extreme prejudice nearly succeeded in wiping out an entire race of people. And it’s not just rulers who have this negative effect.
A friend shared a post to my timeline about how a teacher’s negative comment (based on prejudice) tore into a young girl. The power of one hateful comment could change the course of this young girl’s life. Fortunately she has a family who loves her and is willing to fight for her.
Yesterday, Craig Taubman, a Jewish singer and songwriter, shared a post on Facebook in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, former prime minister of Israel who was assassinated in 1995. He said, “Remembering Yitzhak Rabin yesterday, I was struck by the power of one. One person, one thought, one action to change the course life and history. May his memory continue to inspire.”
The power of one can be used for good or for evil.
Something a friend said has been haunting me since I attended the Rally for Peace. I commented that I wished more of us from Connections (and from our temple) would have joined the Jewish community to stand with Israel and rally for peace. He said that the Lord reminded him that ‘it only took one Jew’.
Think about it. It only took one Jew to save all of creation.
My spiritual dad, an Episcopal priest, once told me something I will never forget. I love science fiction, and I was talking about space travel and asked, “What if there is life on other planets? What does that do to our faith?” He said, “If there is life on other planets, then they’ve got to know about us because it is on this planet that Jesus gave his life for the entire universe.”
That, in itself, has been a comfort every time I face what I think is an insurmountable problem. It puts it all in perspective. (It also reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ space trilogy. In Perelandra, the new world is an ocean and the land is floating. I read it as a young teenager, but the one thing I remember is the Eve of the story telling the traveler that they knew about what happened on his planet.)
The power of one.
Last night a group of us were talking about prayer. There are a couple of us who are being drawn to using the Siddur in prayer. And to praying more on a regular basis. As I mentioned in a previous post, I come from a liturgical background and thoroughly enjoyed the service I attended in Israel with the Netivyah congregation.
But does that mean we should rally others around us to do the same? No. It’s the power of One. He who has called us to pursue this avenue of prayer, is calling others as well. One at a time He will bring us together as a community to pray – in one accord.
There are two of us in the group feeling this tug. And both of us realized that we don’t know how to do it. But God.
I believe God will teach us – either by His Spirit or by sending someone to mentor us individually.
I will close with this: Years ago I attended a Holy Spirit convention in Indianapolis. I was sitting with my church family on the floor of the Hoosier Dome. Someone saw my face on the big screen and came down from way up in the bleachers to do something she’d never done before – delivered a word from the Lord.
She told me that God said because of my obedience, He was giving me the desire of my heart. Everyone wanted to know what that was. I really couldn’t think of any one thing that was so deep it could be called the desire of my heart.
Later that night, as I was talking to the Lord, it hit me – he was going to take his desire and put it in my heart.
So I believe this desire to pray using the Siddur has been put there by God. I also believe he is calling others to do the same. And that when the time is right, he will bring each one together.
What God can do with just one is powerful.
No comments yet.