This world is broken. Look around, and you’ll see examples of that brokenness everywhere you turn–sins of evil and indifference, sins stemming from hurt and from fear. When we see this brokenness, one of our first responses is the deep desire to fix everything that’s wrong in the world. To right the wrongs, to help the people who need it most. But then we’re faced with the absolute enormity of the task, and nothing that we do seems to be enough. There’s always more brokenness, too much for us to fight…and we turn our backs on the problems in this world because we feel like there’s absolutely nothing we can do. 

If any of this resonates with you, my friend, let me tell you this: there is something you can do. But it’s not big and flashy–you might not discover the cure for cancer or solve world hunger. It’s something very small. A simple truth. 

We make the world better by living well in it.

We can make things better right where we are, by loving, fully and completely, those around us, and working to make everything we can touch brighter. We can change the world by simply living the Gospel message, showing that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, and we will not be shaken. We give God our lives and nourish our own spiritual lives, letting us share Christ more clearly to those around us. 

Now, if you’re ready, let’s begin. 

Start Where You Are

If you’re a Catholic, you might have heard of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Her life’s motto was this: do small things with great love. She realized that she probably wouldn’t do something grand for God, and so she worked to live her ‘Little Way’, putting great love into the smallest task she was given. She did not do anything ‘grand’ by her definition, but she is now one of the Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Our job as the Body of Christ is to share Jesus with the world. But that doesn’t mean we have to become the next Jim Elliot or Lottie Moon. In fact, both of those missionaries were impacted by the teaching of those around them. For Jim Elliot, it was the teaching of his parents. For Lottie Moon, it was the preaching of a Reverend on her college campus. Those wonderful people got their faith from those around them, people who shared God’s love and His message right where they were. 

We don’t have to travel across the ocean or start a giant movement. We can share God right where we are, loving the people around us first and foremost. We can help in our local food pantry, or volunteer at a homeless shelter in our town. This is how we can help to change the world. 

Live Your Faith

Once we commit to starting where we are, the next step is to actually start changing the things around us. And how we begin this is a fairly simple concept: we have to live our faith. And no, I don’t mean that you need to go stand at a street corner with signs and talk about Jesus. Though you absolutely could do that, most people don’t like being preached to, and depending on how you go about it, you could leave the wrong impression. 

Living our faith doesn’t mean that we go door-to-door handing out pamphlets. It means that we do our best to act like Christ to other people. It means we love them, even when they make it hard. It means we listen, even when we don’t want to. And it means we help, sometimes just by offering up a prayer or saying an encouraging word. We look at what Christ does in the Bible, and we imitate it. We become Him, and this is how we can show Him to the world in the most effective way. 

By living your faith, you bring light to others. That light is what will help change the world. 

Nourish Your Spiritual Life

To effectively live our faith, we must first have a faith to live. That’s where this third step comes in–though in reality, this is actually the second step. You can’t share a faith you don’t have. So here’s my challenge for you: repeat the first step given in this article and start where you are. Work on your prayer life. This is absolutely essential for any Christian. You cannot maintain a relationship with the Father if you don’t spend time with Him. So, if you haven’t already, set aside at least fifteen minutes a day to pray. Whether you pray in the mornings, evenings, or anytime in between, give Him the fifteen minutes. Or, if you already have a steady prayer routine, consider and ask the Holy Spirit if there’s anything more you can do to deepen your relationship with Him. Maybe you could do a personal Bible study every once and a while, or spend some time sitting in silence before the Lord. Or maybe you could be called to spend more time in prayer with your family. I don’t know what He’ll call you to, but be open. He very well might surprise you.

Keep Hoping

This world is broken. Look around, and you’ll see examples of that brokenness everywhere you turn. But here’s the hope, friends: there is something we can do. And even though we might not be able to fix everything all at once, give it time. Start where you are. Work on changing the world a little bit at a time. Let God fill you up with Himself and pour His love out through you. Don’t be afraid of what this love might cost–God will never call you to anything you can’t handle with Him. 

We are the Body of Christ. He is with us, walking along the path and guiding us. We can start changing the world, and not by doing anything big. 

We make this world better by living in it well.