Let’s Make A Difference in 2023

“I can’t change the world, but I can change the world in me” – Bono.

Every year we get products that are advertised to innovate and lead a cultural revolution. The company making these products believes they are changing the world. As Christians, we would love to do something that would change the world. Our desire is to make a difference rather than live an obscure, little life that will leave no mark on the world.   

If we do really want to change the world, how do we go about it? Handling the basics of life can leave one exhausted. Do I really have the margin, much less the capacity, to change the world? Do I really want to give it a try? After all, the world has a lot of problems and it is difficult to determine where to start. And there is still another question to throw in the mix: how do I make an impact? Do we want to invest our strength, power, and abilities? What if I get tired? Or scared? Or worse yet, flat-out fail?

The key is to stop paying attention to the enormity of the impossible and start pouring your time and energy into the possible: the people and the place to which God has called you to serve Him.

You cannot do it all. You can’t get your arms around the vast boundaries of your city or your entire state. But you are able to touch those who come into the scope of your influence. There will always be more people to reach than time or energy or commitment can provide. But the truth is that each one of us can touch a few. How wrong we would be to stop helping anyone because we cannot help everyone. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him.”

With 1440 minutes in a day and 365 days in a year, we’re given plenty of opportunities to shine. The thing is, we tend to forget that small acts of kindness are every bit as powerful in drawing others to Christ as those we plan and prepare for. A smile, a word of encouragement, a prayer, a text, or a compassionate ear, are just some of the ways to show love and glorify God. You can make a difference. Count on the Lord to honor and multiply your best efforts, even though they may seem small.

John Piper said that “people that make a difference in the world are not people who have mastered a lot of things. If you want your life to count, you don’t have to have a high IQ, good looks, or graduate from a prestigious school. You just have to know a few basic, simple, glorious, majestic, obvious, unchanging eternal things and be gripped by them. It is what you are gripped with, or what we care deeply about.”

Imagine the difference that one person can make–that you can make in this world.

Discussion Questions:

1. How are you making a difference in your community? 
2. What can we do this week to make a difference in one person’s life?