Can one blog really change the world? (Nah, but I think I'll start one anyway.)

For anyone who is actually bothering to read this mess of mine, welcome.

This is the very first post of my new blog. I've done a little blogging before but this is my first ever personal blog and if you're actually reading this (and God bless you for it if you are), be forewarned that I'm really not entirely sure where I'm going with this or what it's going to look like. But at the very least, I can offer this first post and tell you the two streams of thought that led to my starting this little endeavor:

The first stream flows from a friend of mine who gave me the idea of blogging as a substitute for keeping a journal. I liked the idea because I've never really been able to get into journaling regularly. It always seemed like I only wanted to write in a journal when I was in some highly emotional state (which usually meant I was obsessing over some girl--the number of journal entries I've written about women is probably about triple the number of entries about anything else, and that is likely to be a very conservative figure). Sometimes the whole journal thing came off as a little narcissistic to me because it gave me an excuse to be a bit self-absorbed, since no one but me would read it anyway (and I don't mean to condemn anyone who keeps a journal--if you find it to be helpful spiritually, then keep it up and who knows? Maybe one day I'll even come back to it myself). Even so, I often wrote the journal entries as if someone else would read them later anyway. So not only do they tend to be self-centered, but they probably aren't even as honest to my actual feelings as they could be. At the very least, they're inhibited enough that they don't usually display my most shocking inner thoughts. With the blog, the nice thing is I actually am writing something intended for others to read (whether anyone actually does or not is another thing entirely, of course) so there seems to be some added value to the endeavor itself. And with other people reading, a certain level of inhibition is actually a good thing. That said, I'll try to be as honest as I can be and still adhere to some small level of tact at least.

The second stream that led to the blog (and particularly the theme of the blog) was a thought that's been gaining prominence in my mind ever since I saw the film Amazing Grace a few months ago. If you don't know, Amazing Grace is the true story of William Wilberforce, the man who is largely credited with ending the slave trade in Great Britain in the early nineteenth century. The movie gets its title, of course, from the popular hymn by the same name (which was written by John Newton, a former slave ship captain and a spiritual influence on Wilberforce's life).

What is almost unbelievable about Wilberforce (especially in this day and age) is that he was a politician who was moved by nothing more or less than his convictions as a follower of Christ and a concerned citizen of his nation. The abolition of the slave trade was not generally regarded as a wise platform to promote either financially, politically or nationalistically and yet, Wilberforce would not let it go no matter the personal cost to himself (which turned out to considerable) because he was convinced his cause was just. It took nearly twenty years but he was ultimately able (with the help of many other change-minded warriors) to sway opinion against the slave trade, and it was halted. Finally, just three days before his death, he received word that the practice of slavery would finally be abolished in the U.K. entirely (in the U.S. it would be another 35 years and a bloody war before slavery would finally end).

What struck me about seeing Wilberforce's story was the realization that here was a man who was pretty ordinary (for a member of Parliament, at least) who really believed that God would have him follow his conscience rather than popular opinion, and the end result of his obedience was that God used him to change the British Isles--and ultimately the world--forever. Too often I read how God worked in Bible times and it just seems so far away from my life today (a culture totally unlike ours and an age so far in the past as to seem almost legendary). And so, when God works in those stories to change things, in some ways it's just a story to me--inspiring, encouraging but often not much more personal than a fable. But to be reminded by this far more contemporary event that all those things God did in the past are not mere fables but rather they are the reality--that the same Christ who walked the earth in the first century is the same God and Savior who's Spirit dwells in and seeks to work through us today--that inspired me. (Sad to think it took a film to do that when I have always had God's Word on it, but I am a fallen creature after all and a rather visual one to boot.) So as I watched that story play out before my eyes, I realized a thought that has been growing in my head at least since I responded to the call to vocational ministry for the first time way back when I was 16 years old:

I want to change the world.

Before my life on earth is through, in at least one substantial, positive way, I want to change the world. That doesn't mean that I want to be famous like Wilberforce was. I've always struggled with a desire for fame (which really stems from my desire to be loved and accepted) and I'm not saying I'm looking for God to sanctify and honor my own personal lust for recognition and glory. In fact, when it comes to world change, I would certainly hope to be perfectly happy with no one actually knowing I ever did anything of any significance. Even if I myself never know what change God has brought about in the world through my life (and it's safe to say that, to some extent, I won't), it doesn't matter (even though I'm sure that God will reveal to us the true worth of our lives in eternity).

The change itself is the important issue, and the thing that impresses me is that the world changes on such simple things. Think of the people who influenced Wilberforce. Think of people like John Newton. He has a part in Wilberforce's victory and the change God wrought through his life too. Go even further back and think about the spiritual influences in Newton's life. Where does the honor truly lie? Who gets the greatest glory for all of that?

Well the answer is simple, actually: God does.

God gets all the glory for bringing about His will in the world. But He used all those men and women to do something that was far beyond any of them, and so they get to share in that glory. Why? So that they can radiate it back to Him again for all eternity. Please don't think that I'm saying I think God can use me to change the world because I'm anything special. I assure you that I am not (and if you know me personally, you can certainly attest to this). No, I believe God will change the world through me because He is the one who created me, chose me, called me, justified me and is in the process of glorifying me (Rom. 8:29-30). And He doesn't do anything for nothing. Everything He does and everything He creates has purpose. So if He put me here for a purpose (namely glorifying Himself) that must mean that--in some way that I could never hope to understand--His will is accomplished more completely with me in the world than it would be without me. And the same is true for you. You have a purpose and you can change the world--just by being obedient to Him.

So with that in mind (and since I've already written way too much--longwinded as usual), welcome to my new blog. Now, let's get to it! There's a whole world out there to change.