Hmmm. When I get home, I'm stumped. The sentence is too overwhelming to complete. There are so many things I want to change about the world. I want God to heal all the sick and feed the poor. (I often appeal to God to "fix" us and our problems.) I want government to be honest and business to profit everyone. I wish warmongers would die on their swords.
But wait! What would a family, a neighborhood, a city, a world look like if every person told the truth, was faithful to promises, looked out for the interests of others, cared for the needy, acted with honor without looking for personal benefit... What a crazy, amazing, wonderful change that would be! Wouldn't most problems be resolved if humanity acted in alignment with God's character?
If we understood God and his love for us, selfish ambition, manipulation of the weak, and violence under the guise of religion would disappear. The powerful would care for the powerless. The rich would support the poor. We would work with diligence and play with joyful energy. Marriages would endure, and children would grow safely, beloved within their families. There would be no graft, no snatching food from the mouths of the hungry to heap the plates of the well-fed.
Can we change the world? Young people set out with red banners flying above golden hopes. And old people sit back to watch and reflect on graying dreams, knowing positive world change is rare within a lifetime.
Still, maybe changing the world is not what we are called to do. Truly holy revolution begins small, emerges from within. Wholesome influence flows through those who are renewed and reborn. Perhaps loving God with all our might, following all we know about his ways, and doing good to others can change this corner of world for us and those who know us. And that may be enough.
If I could change the world, I surely would have begun by letting God change me.
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*For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. Ecclesiastes 2:16 NLT
*But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35-36 NLT
*I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 NLT
*You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 NKJV
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