Spheres of Influence - A Cup Bearer Builds A Wall & A King Inspires A Technology

I have been thinking about this topic for quite some time now, it seems God brings us into times and positions for reasons, how we get there, may be through trials, hard work, shaping of life's twists and turns but when we are in God's plan and have been invited by Him to allow Him to be the navigator of our stories, He makes sure we do get there and when we get there it is usually for making a difference, being a difference maker and bringing Him glory.

From the topic of the post you must have guessed who I am going to talk about. Its Nehemiah who was the cup bearer to the Persian King. Enslaved under the Persians, Nehemiah was one of the Jews who made a political career but ended up being the trusted cup bearer. Now the job of cup bearer doesn't seem to be that glamorous added to the facts he could die if there were schemers in the court who might try to poison the king. Nevertheless Nehemiah had the the ears of the king and his favor. When Nehemiah hears the plight of the people who have returned to Jerusalem the Holy City, that they were attacked and unprotected, Nehemiah  sets his mind to do something about it.  Before that he prays to God that the Lord gives him favor before the king and when he presents his request to the king, the king not only grants him his request to go and help build a wall for his people but also gives him all the materials, supplies and help that he may need.

Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem and starts building this wall. In spite of opposition he perseveres and accomplishes something important. Nehemiah's contribution was that he build a wall. Just a wall! but I think his sphere of influence was great, he not only protected the then inhabitants of Jerusalem, but that ushered in the resettlement of the Jewish people. Exactly 483 Jewish years  later Jesus who rides into Jerusalem among the shouts of "Hosanna to the King" must have looked at these walls and thought in His mind, "Well done my servant Nehemiah, I am pleased with you". Nehemiah's sphere of influence reached far down into many generations, he is a spectacular example of someone who are in the will of God in their small sphere and have a great impact on history.

On the same vein I want to relate here the story of Harald Blåtand King of the Danes who ruled between 935 to 985 AD. He was  brought up in a Christian home and was encouraged to make a difference and be an influencer in the sphere of domain that he was called to be as a  Christian king. Harland Blåtand became a Christian at the age of 25 and was influential in sending missionaries all across Europe. The Jelling stone inscriptions in Denmark are a reminder of that. Of these stones the larger stone with its runic writings is said to be erected by Blåtand in the memory of his parents. On one side of the stone is the image of Christ and on the other side translated from Runic it states "Harald, king, bade these memorials to be made after Gorm, his father, and Thyra, his mother. The Harald who won the whole of Denmark Sweden and Norway and turned the Danes to Christianity." Blåtand united Denmark, Norway and Sweden and was influential in his christian calling. In his small sphere of influence in Europe, he definitely is a remarkable person in history.

Now if you look closely on the electronic devices of today we are very familiar with the technology called 'Bluetooth'. Blåtand's name when translated in english stands for Harald Bluetooth. The bluetooth technology was named in honor of this King of the Danes. Now if you observe the runic letters more closely as shown in the figures and take the H and B and fuse them, it gives us the Bluetooth Symbol. Isn't that remarkable? I think almost a thousand years later because Harald Blåtand was a difference maker in the sphere of his influence, his name was honored even more. I like to think God must have looked upon this servant of his like He did on Nehemiah for a job well done in his generation so much so that his name would be honored in a technology piece which would help in modern day communications between electronic devices.

May we like these amazing examples be difference makers, wall builders for the King of Kings in this generation.

Blessings & Shalom,

Sam Kurien