The church can be a body in which we transform lives and therefore transform society. It may not be realistic to hope for Utopia but go with me for a moment and reflect on this space and time…a small rural community not far from a metropolitan area. An area where booze is king and American Idol is news. We fill ourselves with useless information and useless strategies for getting the most for the least amount of work performed. What would happen if we actually practiced what the teachings of the Bible say to do in life? Could we change our reaction to life by changing our behaviors? Can we practice communicating and loving each other just as much as we love our own self? With the divorce rate at 50% the success of families is shifting. Prisons are filling up. Life is really hard for a whole lot of us. Is this something we should be striving to change?

One small change. The things of importance to your spouse can be managed and claimed important to you solely because it is important to your spouse. I’m not saying guys, you need to get mannie/peddies or cry during Bridges of Madison County or anything but seriously, a back rub after a hard day goes a really, really long way.

We can stretch to grow into who God needs us to be. We can be someone who can help make necessary changes in society. This can start at home. In 2 Timothy 1:7 it reads, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” Discipline myself with how I spend my time takes practice and I’m not always successful, but when I show my husband he is the most important thing by coming home on time, it not only shows I value and respect him but we actually have time to be together and that’s a good thing. When I get caught up in the to-do’s of the day or week or month I force myself to take a step back and remember my time belongs to God and what he needs me to get done will. We can go forth in a spirit of power knowing there is a God on our side and we have such strength in that faith. We need to be intentional though; it doesn’t happen in one moment after one instance of trial. Be prepared to begin and begin again. It starts in the church. Find one now.