There are some things we can learn fairly quickly like “Don’t throw a rock at a baby skunk.”
Other things take a long time, even a lifetime, of meditating upon in order to become habits of thinking and acting.
These include the basic ways we think about life and the principles we live by.
How do we transform the world? We need to get people to see things differently, to have a different vision for life and live by different principles.
This is so important and significant. What if we could see the world the way God sees it? What happens if someone really believes God is there? What happens when someone really believes that our moral actions matter before God for now and eternity? What if a person could see God’s amazing love and believe that it was for them? It would make a huge difference.
The way to change the world is to help people see differently. In Ephesians 1:3-14, the Apostle describes in lofty terms the beauty and glories of the good news that God is restoring all things and has chosen the people of the church in Ephesus to be a part of that marvelous plan (see my post on this here).
But it’s not enough to talk about it. We can’t just give people our words. We have to give them our lives. When Paul heard about the Ephesians and their faith, he praised God for them. He gave thanks for them. He had an affection for them, and he said so.
Most importantly, he prayed for them. He didn’t just give them the message. He knew that the work of seeing God’s truth was a work of the Spirit of God. This work of God’s Spirit is available for the asking, and so Paul kept asking.
And that’s what we need to do. We need to keep asking. How do change the world around us? We ask. We ask the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus to help people see differently.
Former Senate Chaplain Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie captured this sentiment in these words: “We are not a powerless minority in the face of evil. We can change the course of history, we can alter the trend of evil in our society, we can liberate people—if we will pray in the name of Jesus Christ.”