🌍 Reason to Believe (14): The World May Not Be Beautiful, But It Changes When I Become a Good Friend
🌍 Reason to Believe (14):
The World May Not Be Beautiful, But It Changes When I Become a Good Friend
✨ Key Theme Summary
God is a self-existent and perfect Being.
Human beings, by nature, are foolish and sinful—we cannot come to the truth on our own.
And yet, in His mercy, God gives wisdom to those He has chosen,
uses trials to grow us,
and through us, He plants small but real evidences of love into the broken world.
📖 Theological Foundations
1. God Is the “I Am” – The Self-Existent and Perfect One
“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’”
(Exodus 3:14)
God does not depend on anything created for His existence.
He is the Self-Existent Being, complete in Himself.
He is moved by no need and lacks nothing.
(cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part I, Q.3–4)
2. Human Foolishness and Evil – Why Trials Are Necessary
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”
(Psalm 14:1)
Scripture makes clear that human nature is corrupted and self-centered.
God allows us to undergo hardship so that we may become humble,
gain insight, and awaken to His wisdom.
“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”
(Psalm 119:71)
3. The World Is Not Beautiful – But the Gospel Plants Hope
The world has been marred by sin, resulting in pain, division, and injustice.
Yet in Christ, God offers real hope.
Even though we cannot transform the entire world,
God calls us to be a friend to the one right next to us.
“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”
(Matthew 5:13–14)
We may not have the power to change systems,
but we can offer genuine friendship and love to one person near us.
🎯 Application for Young Adults
📌 1. It’s Okay to Realize Early That the World Isn’t Beautiful
If you’ve already come to feel that life is strange, empty, or unfair—
you’re not wrong.
The world is not beautiful because it is fallen.
But it’s in recognizing this that true faith and wisdom begin.
📌 2. Becoming a Good Friend to the Person Next to You Is a Gospel Response
Jesus didn’t aim to overthrow entire political systems.
He met individuals, one at a time, and became their friend.
We, too, may not be able to change the world at large,
but by loving one person well, we bring great glory to God.
💡 Final Reflection
“The world is filled with deception and self-centeredness,
but God spreads His love through even one person who chooses to stay near in truth.”
The perfect, self-existent God calls us not as tools, but as friends.
And when we choose to become a good friend to another,
that is the very space where the Holy Spirit moves and works.
🔍 Timothy Keller: A Closer Look at His Quote
1. “God does not call us to transform the whole world at once…”
➡️ God does not give us an impossible task of fixing the entire world all at once.
Many Christians burn out from a sincere desire to “change the world.”
But this quote helps us let go of the burden of having to fix everything.
God’s calling is often strategic, relational, and gradual.
In Scripture, He consistently honors faithfulness over flashy success (cf. Matthew 25:21).
2. “...but to love the people He has placed right beside us.”
➡️ God’s calling always comes in the form of specific people, places, and timing.
Keller teaches that it’s not some abstract "world" we’re called to love—
it’s the person right beside you.
That means: your family, coworkers, friends, difficult neighbors, even your boss.
Loving that “next person” is what true gospel mission looks like.
📖 Keller’s Theology of Work and Calling
In Every Good Endeavor, Keller emphasizes that human work is not just a means of survival,
but a sacred participation in God’s creative mission.
“Your daily work is ultimately an act of worship if done in response to God’s call, and done for the neighbor’s good.”
This quote calls us to see our ordinary days and nearby relationships as holy assignments from God.
🧠 Reflective Questions for Young Adults
📌 Before trying to change the world,
👉 Don’t try to “change” the person next to you—
👉 Try loving them first.
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Who am I truly loving right now?
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Who have I been ignoring, even though they’re right beside me?
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How faithfully am I loving the person God has placed next to me?
🕊️ One-Sentence Summary
The gospel may not change the world overnight,
but it can change one life through faithful love for the person beside you.
And that is how the world begins to change.
📘 References and Citations
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The Bible: Exodus 3:14; Psalm 14:1, 119:71; Matthew 5:13–14
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Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part I, Q.3–4
"God is self-existent, uncaused, and utterly perfect."
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Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work (Penguin, 2012)
“God does not call us to transform the whole world at once, but to love the people He has placed right beside us.”
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