How To Change the World

My mom tells me I need to think bigger. She thinks I am going to impact the world. She thinks that I need to be available for God to do something huge in me! Now what mother wouldn't want great things from their beloved son? The thing is, in a way I think she is right. Don't write me off as someone who is full of himself because I assure you I am not. I just think we have the wrong perception of what it takes to change the world.

The truth is, I am not going to change the world. Neither are you. We have no ability or power to do so. But God does. It's a strange dichotomy of lowliness confidence. I can do nothing, but through Him I can do anything! So I don't believe I will change the world, but I know the world will be changed through His power working in believers.

I am working through John 15 very carefully and it made me see that God doesn't care so much about our gifts and abilities. Sure, He gave them to us and created us purposefully to be used for His glory. Yet, without His power working through them they don't amount to anything. God does care about obedience and submission. You may be getting uncomfortable thinking I am about to give you some legalistic sermon on the importance of your deeds, but I assure you I am not. Jesus says you must abide in the vine before you can bear fruit. When you draw near to Jesus, obedience and submission are going to be a natural response because the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Love for God comes from obedience to His word! As you obey His word, you will be overwhelmed by His goodness.

Back to the first paragraph. I don't think I can change the world by anything I do, but I do believe if I trust the Lord and try to obey His commands to the best of my ability that He will change the world through me. He who abides in Jesus bears much fruit. I honestly hope I never care what that fruit looks like. Whether I lead a million people to diligently follow the Lord or none, there will be fruit in abiding in Jesus. I should be able to rest on that. Pride shouldn't be an issue because it isn't by my power, it's by His.

Now I know that there are situations in life where it is difficult to find the right decision. There isn't always a clear cut answer. Plus, the power of the flesh is always warring against us. However, the Word of God is sufficient, and our God desires to help us in our time of need and trouble. I realize we are going to make mistakes. I realize that there are going to be some unbelievably difficult situations. Yet, I hope and pray that we will strive every day to draw near to the Lord and His word. I pray that we will stop judging ourselves by our perception of results, and I pray that we will stop consistently comparing ourselves to others for our self worth. I pray that we will be obedient, and thus trust our God to change the world. If we do so, our Heavenly Father will be glorified, and that is a life worth living. He will work on your heart, just be available and seek Him. The world will change and evil will not prevail. I have read the end of the story. If you want to live a life of purpose for God, plug into the vine and obey the commands of our Lord.