How to Change the World

Changing the World

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:9-11 NASB

Maybe you’re like me and sometimes you get weary trying to change the world.

Things seem to be getting worse, not better. We now have the intolerance of those calling for tolerance. The injustice of those seeking justice. The lies of those promoting truth. We hear a message to be love delivered in the context of hate and bigotry to everyone who is not loving in the way the presenter desires. Confront someone on their condition and they turn into a victim or a warlord.
How do we not get caught up in all this? How can we live as Christians in a Christian way?

I believe that two words from the passage above can help us with practical living and world-changing. Those words are “filled” and “fruit.”

Most of us were raised with the notion that Christians have asked Jesus to come and live in their heart. The problem is that many of us just gave Him a small apartment on the backside of our heart and kept most of the space for ourselves. Unlike those on the day of Pentecost we were not filled, only fired up. We excepted passion as transformation. We believed that the experience was not in degrees, that if we had some, we had it all.

I believe that if we get enough God dwelling in us we/He will bear fruit through us and the world will be changed. The world wants me to focus on what I do. Christ Jesus calls us to keep our eyes on Him and what He is doing. The world has a never-ending demand that I solve problems, deal with injustice, live perfectly. The fullness of Christ Jesus through the indwelling Spirit works in me to change my heart and my mind. The Spirit renews so that living a righteous life is not a performance but an expression of God in me. It’s fruitfulness.

You will be attacked if you seek to live out of the expression of Christ living in you. Both in the church and the world people will accuse you. Some will call you naive. Others will call you deceived. Still, others will condemn you for being selfish, only concerned about yourself. While these attacks hurt, they also help purify our motives and assist us in seeking more of God, more infilling, more fullness. In the end, it is not all good, but what was intended to harm and control you were used by the Lord for good. Just remember that you are never a victim when you use evil for transformation.
So live today, and every day, fruitfully. Give what you have away freely. Don’t strive to be everything, just be you and allow the fullness of God to flow out of your life and into the world. Be free from the ways of the world which demand production, control outcomes or manipulate behavior. Be free from the fear, anger, and anxiety that are the fruit of that kind of lifestyle.

Instead live in praise, rejoicing, and thanksgiving for the work of God in you and the expression of fruitfulness you have today. Be confident in the Lord. You can’t meet all the needs of this world. You can’t even love everyone you meet by your own strength. So, avoid the pitfall of trying. Try instead to trust God with all your heart and freely give what you have received as you allow Christ in you to express Himself through you, even if it is only a tiny expression. Embrace being the tail and not the head, a part and not the whole, one person and not the entire body of Christ, a son of God and not God Himself.

I know a guy who was so burdened to be significant that when He found himself less than he thought he should be, he puffed himself up with pride. He used anger to help him be persuasive. He filled his life with anxiety and though being driven was a lifestyle for the redeemed. In the end, he became the very thing he filled his life with, proud, angry, anxious and driven. We all become what we fill our life with.

Share this post if you think it will help others. Also, visit my Amazon authors page and see if you can find something to encourage you. But most of all when not take 10 minutes right now and rest in the presence of God, allowing His Spirit to fill you more fully.