One life can make a difference

I like this day. . . St. Patricks Day. As many choose to where green, eat Corn Beef and Cabbage and drink their favorite Irish Beer ( I prefer Root Beer), I enjoy thinking of the man to whom this day is set aside to honor, St. Patrick (Maewyn Succat). St. Patrick was a church planting machine, it is said that he was responsible for starting over 200 churches. His ministry to the Pagans of Ireland is a remarkable story of forgiveness and faithfulness. At the age of 16 he was sold into slavery to Irish Raiders. He remained a slave until he escaped at the age of 22. After his conversion he was compelled by God to return to the people who once held him as a slave. Through his life and work one of the greatest Spiritual Awakenings took place in the world. In George Hunter's book; "The Celtic Way of Evangelism", it is noted that perhaps several million people within 5 countries were touched by the gospel because of the influence of Maewyn Succat's ministry. Historians tell us that he baptized over 100,000 new Christians himself, I cannot even imagine doing that today (you''d need a strong back, but I would love to have the opportunity). His methodology for reaching people with the gospel was very unorthodox during his time. The Roman Church's method of reaching people was to convince people to believe in Christ in order to be accepted in the church. Maewyn Succat's approach was to provide venues and places for people to see and experience Christ. He believed that if pagans could see and be touched by the genuine love of Christ they would be convinced of their need to make a commitment to Christ as well. So, Patrick created monasteries that allowed the people to hang out with God's people. What he essentially did was provide people who were disconnected from Christ the opportunity to rub shoulders and experience Christianity before they ever made a commitment to follow Christ. The results were explosive, and unfortunately became a threat to the established Roman Church of that day.

St. Patrick I believe, was used mightily by God because he believed that people's lives needed to be transformed with gospel of Christ. He obviously saw the value of making sure he modeled (along with others) what a life transformed by Christ looks like. The modeling of genuine love and devotion created an explosion of new disciples being born again into God's Kingdom.

I wonder today if it is possible for God to use this same approach to reaching people in a culture that is turning more and more pagan everyday? And, is it possible that God can still use one man (or woman) to begin a fire that burns the chaff of religion and opens the door of helping people transform their lives as they connect to Christ? I know the answer and I'm sure you do as well. To quote our new President; "Yes He can!"

So, if you ever wonder if your life could make a "huge" difference in changing a culture for Christ, look at St. Patrick and believe that "all things are possible through Christ." Maewyn Succat obviously did!

BTW: Why is the Shamrock so big on this day? Legend has it that Maewyn Succat used the "three leaf" clover to communicate the Trinity.