If you could change the world …

If you could change the world, how would you do it?

Genesis 1:27 tells us man was created in God's image. So maybe we should start with a mirror. In that mirror if you see an image God would not find pleasing, that would be a place to start. When you work to become closer to what God created you to be, you also help the world to become a better place.

You may ask, “How can this be?” It’s because when you move closer to God’s version of you, God's love starts growing in you. With God's love in you, the most amazing things happen:

• Hate is replaced by love and understanding.

• Jealousy is replaced by grace.

• Greed is replaced by wanting to give and serve.

• A desire for revenge is replaced by acknowledgement that God will provide justice.

• A heart that's full of darkness now has the bright light of Christ’s love.

Humanity will never make it without God. We can't do it alone, but if we all listen to Jesus in Matthew 7:3, and stop trying to fix our brother and the world, we all become a little bit better, and the world is better, too.

With these small changes, the world can become a better place. So how about Matthew 7:3? What do you say? I will work on the plank in my eye; you work on the plank in your eye, and we will both live in a better world filled with God’s love, and governed by God's grace.

Pastor Hollis Stewart ministers at The Living Word Church in Sandpoint.