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The above bit of history is hardly news as it is covered well in public education. Nor is this sermon illustration’s ensuing theme new to most congregations as it has been preached from untold numbers of pulpits. Obviously, its intent is to encourage the occupiers of pews to value what each person brings to a congregationally governed church and stand up for what they believe. Most of these sermons then follow with myriad authentic examples of one individual voicing their opinion and making a profound difference in the outcome of historical situations: Thomas Jefferson became president as opposed to John Adams by one vote in the electoral college; Rutherford B. Hayes also won the presidency of the United States by one vote instead of Samuel Tilden; Texas, Oregon, California and Washington all barely became states each by merely one vote. With such important narrow margins, the design is promptly grasped that every person’s willingness to stand up and be counted is significant.

I wholeheartedly agree with the principle and would like to use this column to encourage all readers of whatever religious persuasions, political leanings or social values professed, that your opinion is not only important, it is a freedom to exercise that few people around the world enjoy.

But more importantly, and this what I wish to stress, the above point is not, as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.”

Margaret Sangster is best known as a 19th century Christian writer, but she was also a social worker. In an urban ghetto, she once spied a young handicapped boy sitting on the stoop of a tenement building. Although he was not in her caseload, she took it upon herself to investigate his situation and discovered he had indeed been left seriously crippled from an automobile related tragedy. Tragically, his parents were so ill informed and uneducated, that he did not receive proper medical care. Through her contacts, the corrective medical issues were properly taken and health was restored to the young man.

One person, Margaret Sangster, taking the initiative made all the difference in this young boy’s potential. Of the incident, she later spoke, “If I never accomplish anything else in my whole life, at least here is one young man to whom I can point where I have made a real difference.” She went on to relate that as this same young man aged, rather than becoming a social worker, minister or some professional humanitarian, he was “in prison for one of the foulest crimes a human being could commit.” That was when she followed up with “the rest of the story.”

“I was instrumental in teaching him to walk again, but there was no one there to teach him where to walk,” she said.

The Apostle Paul used the analogy of gardening to make this very same point. Some are called to plant seeds, others to water the plants as they mature. One person can and will make a huge difference, but God is calling others along life’s journey to continue being the “one” at every turn to make the difference again and again. To what difference in someone’s life might the Lord be asking you to make even now?