Edward Kimball was a little-known Sunday school teacher in Detroit in the mid-nineteenth century. You have probably never heard of him.
On the other hand, you may have heard of the man in Mark chapter five – the scary one who was delivered from an army of demons. This miracle occurred straight after the dramatic calming of the storm at the end of chapter four, where the storm was so fierce that the disciples feared for their lives. Jesus simply told the storm to ‘be still’. Later, on the other side of the lake, the first person Jesus met was the man with the evil spirits – Legion (5: 2). Then, after the man’s deliverance, Jesus just got back in the boat again (5: 21) and left.
He did all of that for one man! The disciples must have been thinking, ‘we went through all of that for just one crazy guy?’
Admittedly, Jesus might have stayed longer if the local inhabitants hadn’t asked him to leave, and maybe he might have ministered to many more, but it turns out that all of this really was for just one guy – and a massive rejection from the town council!
Have you ever felt you put lots of effort into what seemed like a tiny result? Perhaps you felt it was God’s will to do that thing and you had high expectations, but the fruit seemed so minimal and the journey to get there so difficult.
If that describes you, I want to show you what happened to the man who was delivered - Legion. It’s in verse 20 of Mark 5: It says he went back to the town to share his story and ‘all the people were amazed’. This time they are not rejecting what Jesus has done, they are amazed what Legion says about him. This is progress.
Actually, in Luke’s telling of the story (Ch 8), we are told that the man went all over town to share how much Jesus had done for him and Mark tells us he went to the Decapolis. The Decapolis was 10 cities! He told his story in 10 cities. Jesus ministered to just one man and he, in turn, ministered to 10 cities.
Edward Kimball was a little-known Sunday school teacher in Detroit in the mid-nineteenth century. One day he visited an ordinary lad in his class, shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him and the lad gave his life to Christ. That young lad was D. L. Moody who would go on to lead millions of people to Christ, as well as found the Moody Bible Institute and The Moody Church in Chicago.
Edward Kimball went out of his way for one soul. Look where it led.
Let’s never underestimate God’s ability to multiply something we might do for just one person: a word of encouragement here; a gift there; a call to someone who is lonely; the sharing of your testimony to the guy on the bus; that small kindness that seems unnoticed by everyone else. In time, your blessing to one may well become a multitude of blessings to many more.
The best is yet to come. God bless - Terry
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