one changed life at a time...

There's a lot of chat going on in our world about change, especially with the economic distress that the world is in (I wonder...do the Amish know we are in a recession?) Usually, the typical response to a large problem is radical change--fix it by doing a huge revamp or basically starting over from scratch. Sometimes the only real solution to a complex problem is good, old-fashioned 'undo' (I just love that button on my computer, don't you?). However, when it comes to fixing God's world (culture, power-structures, etc.) how does God seem to typically work? Well, Jesus teaches us that God works through his people--that we're plan A and there is no plan B or C, D, E, etc for that matter (that makes it a whole lot simpler than Medicare, right?). When we look at the world we live in (yes, unless we're dead, we're still here), we might be tempted to think that our best response is to form protest groups and basically become anti-this and anti-that so we can get things shut down that we don't like. Do you know how people view that response, though? That we are ultimately against them! But that's not the image we are to portray. Jesus is our best example in this. He had a lot to say against things and even people, but most of that was said against the uppity religious establishment, not those who were living their lives in ignorance far away from God. Instead, those folks tended to be drawn to Jesus because he accepted them and welcomed them; he showed them love and as a result, their lives were changed. It works the same way today because we still serve the same Jesus who now lives his life through us. Do you want to see the culture around you change? Then start loving people more. Focus your efforts not on what we can be against but on what we stand for--a God who so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. Think about your thinking for a moment. Do you spend more time thinking about how you can better love people or how disgusted you are with things around you and how you want them to change. Change will come--as one heart at a time is changed by the love of Jesus Christ (as shown by YOU) and then the culture will begin to reflect that. Try love as the solution to the problems around you. Biblically, it is really the only solution that will work and the only one that's consistent with God's character.