Do We Really Make a Difference?


It’s easy to get caught up in all the bad things that happen to us and forget that we have other experiences that make up our lives. As a missionary kid, it’s easy for me to wonder what the point of my life is. I don’t have a cool job flying airplanes or translating the Bible like so many of the adults around me, but that doesn’t mean I’m not making a difference.

Maybe the ways I’m affecting people aren’t as big and grand as “real” missionaries, but God still has a plan for my life. If I’m devoted to learning about him and to acting out his will for me, then I’m being a missionary in my own right. Maybe I’m not saving people’s lives with medevacs, but I’m still able to say a kind word to someone at the store, or hang out with a little kid on the street and give smiles to people that need them. It’s the kind of missionary work that everyone can do.

Right now my “job” is being a student, which means studying math and history and all those other subjects, and not having a lot of free time to myself or to spend with other people. But that doesn’t mean I can’t use what little time I do have to bless others, to care for others, and to make a small difference. I need to forget the few times when I feel frustrated or sad, and focus on all the ways God has blessed me. If I remember God’s goodness it will help me to share it with others, and make a difference in their lives for Christ’s sake, which is my ultimate goal.

3 Comments

  • Tricia Pottinger says:

    Jonathan, On behalf of all MK’s I thank you for your thoughts and words. Your job is to be a student and continue to grow in Christ. I thank you that along the way you do make a difference. Sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small ways. God honors all ways we love and care for others when it is done in His name and to give Him glory. Often we spend so much time trying to find the “big” ways to make a difference that a million small ways are missed! Continue the good work. Aunt Tricia

  • Iva James says:

    Jonathan,your blog reminded me of a song “Little is Much
    When God is in it”
    Through you He spreads the beautiful fragrance of His
    knowledge to every corner of the earth—you are the sweet smell ot the Annointed to God your Father
    2Cor 2:14-15 the Voice Bible
    Aunt Iva

  • Myrna Sweetman says:

    Jonathan – I enjoyed this month’s blog and wanted to tell you that you certainly made a difference during your last visit to Canada. You made a difference in the lives of the young people who got to know you as a real person – and came to realize that MK’s are ‘real people’. Myrna

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