How to Change the World Around You
You want to know how to change the world around you? I’m going to give you the answer right away.
Give them Jesus.
That’s the answer. It really doesn’t get any simpler than that. Share Jesus, talk about Jesus, love like Jesus, treat people how Jesus treated people.
It’s not a new thought. It’s not a new message. Jesus is the answer. He’s always been the answer and always will be the answer.
I want to tell you about a woman who did just that. She changed the world around her by changing the lives of the people around her. She gave them Jesus.
She’s a well-known woman, but we don’t know her name. We don’t know much about her except that she had five husbands and apparently liked to draw water from a well at the hottest part of the day—in the Middle East. Yep, I’m talking about the unnamed Samaritan woman in the Bible.
You can read the account in John 4. (Go ahead and read it now; I even linked it for you.)
Jesus changed her life during their conversation. She had approached the well thirsty and empty—physically and spiritually. When she left, however, she was filled to the point of overflowing with Living Water.
I’d like to point out 3 things I noticed toward the end of this account, showing us how this one, singular woman changed the world around her:
No one had to tell her to go and share about Jesus.
She was so full of that Living Water that she HAD to go and share it with everyone. She couldn’t not tell!
But wait...there’s more to it. It’s generally accepted that this woman would have been--or at least would have felt like--an outsider and an outcast. She had had five husbands and was currently living with a man to whom she was not married. Culturally, this would not have been acceptable. Also, she was at the well at the hottest part of the day, while everyone else would have been seeking shade and a reprieve from the heat.
The bottom line is that this woman was broken, lost, and most likely judged by the very people to whom she runs to tell about Jesus. Imagine how humbling and difficult that must have been for her. Imagine the boldness she needed at that moment. She could have kept Jesus for herself. She could have stayed right by His side. But, no, she had to share. She had to give them Jesus.
Her story brought people to Jesus. They believed because of her testimony.
She used her words, her voice, her story to bring others to Jesus. The people had to have known all about her issues, right? They knew part of her story, but they didn’t know the end. They didn’t know how Jesus was going to use her to bring them life. Her story wasn’t over, and it wasn’t wasted.
Her story pointed the people to Jesus.
They made their faith their own by knowing Jesus for themselves.
This is where the real change happened. Because this woman shared Jesus, because she told her story, the people believed. But even better than that, they were drawn into relationship with Jesus. They spent time with Him, listened to Him, and had a chance to KNOW Him for themselves. They no longer relied on the woman’s words to believe.
Just the fact that her story brought others to Jesus is amazing and inspiring. It is so much more significant, however, that her words brought them into a relationship with Jesus. They came to know Jesus because the woman, whom they probably gossiped about, boldly faced the judgments and remarks they could have thrown at her in order to invite them to meet Jesus.
And they did. They met Jesus. They knew Jesus. Their lives were changed.
This one woman had a significant impact on the world around her; she changed her world.
Can you see yourself in this woman?
I can! I see how it’s much easier for me to avoid problems, to avoid people who may question me or make me feel uncomfortable. I can easily live my life in the empty spaces people leave behind. We all can. We know when to show up when people won’t notice. We know how to avoid the things that cause pain or discomfort. We know how to avoid the people who don’t understand us or the ones we don’t understand.
I see myself in the Samaritan woman, held back by fear and shame. But, you know what, I want to see myself in her boldness. In her conviction to go and tell the people about Jesus. To give them Jesus. If she can be that bold, then I know I can, too. We all can.
How to “give them Jesus”
The Samaritan woman didn’t only give them Jesus with her words, she gave them Jesus through her life. The fact that her past, her sin, her brokenness were not hidden—the people knew about her—made her words that much more powerful. She used what she had.
We give people Jesus by living our lives in front of them—as long as our lives line up with His Word. We give people Jesus by showing up for them, by seeing them, by doing what Jesus would have done.
Baking a pie for a neighbor we haven’t seen in a while. Sending a quick text to the person who randomly pops in our mind. Telling someone they look pretty. Being a voice of encouragement, hope, peace, joy.
It’s seeing someone in pain and stopping to help, even if it’s just a prayer. It’s being true to who we say we follow—doing as He would do. Our lives and our choices speak volumes about what we truly believe.
And just so you know, I’m probably the one who needs to work the most at truly showing up for people—my neighbors, my friends, my family. All of these things I need to work at improving in my own life.
The other side of this is that we can also give people Jesus with our story, boldly sharing how Jesus has changed our lives. We all have a story. It doesn’t matter if yours has a dramatic before and after or if yours is more of a simple “yes” to Him. Nobody can argue your story. Nobody can shut down what God has done in your life. Your story is powerful, because it changed your life!
The absolute truth is that we serve a God who has shown us in His Word over and over that small doesn’t mean insignificant. That He can and will use people to change the world. When we give Him what we have or do what we can, however small we may feel or however simple our story may seem, He will do more than we could ever imagine. That’s what He does!
Our job is not to be Jesus. Our job is to give them Jesus, point them to Jesus. God will do the rest!
Make this prayer yours:
Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for loving us so much that you gave Your Son to us. You provided a way, THE way, for us to be in relationship with you by selflessly giving us Jesus. I pray I never, never take that for granted. Jesus is always the answer; He’s always been the answer. Help me to not only know that but to live that--boldly and actively. I want to give people Jesus, to introduce them to Him through my life and my story. Show me where I need to show up today. Help me to use my story, the story You are writing with my life, to point others to Him. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Here’s something for you to walk away with: decide on one way you can give someone Jesus this week. One way you can show up for someone, or one way you can share a little of your story with someone in hopes that it will point them to Jesus. Just one. Make it simple and attainable. If you are bold enough, I’d love to hear your idea. And maybe others would be encouraged by your idea, too.