I go to Indiana Wesleyan University, and if you know anything about this school, you know that our big thing is being a “world changer.” As a freshman I took a mandatory class called Becoming a World Changer. I also pass bronze busts in my library every day of people to whom IWU has given the honorary title of “World Changer” (Frank Peretti, Tony Dungy, the Gathers, Joni Eareckson Tada, the Chick-Fil-A guy, etc.) Although I don’t really feel like I learned anything from that freshman class and whether or not some of the school’s chosen “world changers” deserve the title or not could be debated, in the end I think that as Christians we are indeed called to change the world.
When I first heard I would be going on the World Race, I laughed and thought my school should be so proud: I’m going out to change the world! I am aware that only spending a month in a country doesn’t exactly give me the potential to solve all of their problems. I do know that all things are possible with God though, and I know if you don’t expect God to do very much, He’s probably not going to do very much. It’s also true that if you’re serving God, no matter how small it may seem, it is still pleasing to Him.
It’s easy for me to associate the World Race with being a world changer. But what about my time not spent on the World Race? What about the days spent in class or at work? A couple weeks ago we had a chapel speaker who came to my school and talked to us about this very thing. He talked about how we should be “world changers” right now, wherever we are, whatever we’re doing. This has been hard for me. I have been so looking forward to the World Race that I forget about the ministry God has called me to RIGHT NOW. As a senior who is about to graduate and then leave America for year, I have found myself taking the easy road and not investing in others and sometimes even pushing people away. I don’t want to build relationships and minister to others because the separation after could be painful. However, if I were to keep that attitude for the World Race my time spent in each country would be pointless. God has been helping me work through this and I am getting better. I want to be able to change the world around me, wherever I am. Even if that is a college campus in Marion, Indiana.
How can you serve God and change the world around you, RIGHT NOW?
