We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (NIV)

When M.I.T. meteorologist, Edward Lorenz discovered how the tiniest variation in weather conditions in one part of the world can produce dramatic changes in weather conditions in another part of the world, a science called Chaos Theory was born. It’s more commonly known as The Butterfly Effect because a monarch butterfly flapping its wings in Malibu can potentially produce a monsoon in Malaysia. Tiny changes – enormous consequences.

But it’s not just the atomic nature of our world that’s so incredibly sensitive. Humanity is equally sensitive. Our lives are integrally connected. What happens in my life potentially impacts yours; what happens in your life potentially impacts mine.

Influence. We all have it and all exert it. Sometimes positively – sometimes negatively. Which begs a critical question: What kind of influence are you having on the people around you?

Everything that makes the world what it is, is the result of one person’s actions. What you and I do makes the world a better or worse place. In the film, Pay it Forward, Eugene Simonet gives his class an assignment for the school year: “Think of an idea that could change the world, and put it into action.” Young Trevor comes up with a simple plan: He’ll do something good for three people and ask each of them to pay it forward to three other people who in turn will pay it forward to three others, ad infinitum.

Jesus Christ is the greatest example of One who makes the world a better place. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (NLT). That’s paying it forward! Christ took the punishment upon Himself that we deserve for our sin. He died for our salvation.

Today, +2 000 years later, the love of Christ continues to change our world for the good. Do you hear the fluttering of butterfly wings? “We love each other as a result of his loving us first” 1 John 4:19 (NLT).

The power of One. Christ’s life touched another life, which touched another and another and another . . . Why not join Him? You can help make the world a better place. Your life, influenced by Christ’s, can positively change the world. Start by entering into a personal relationship, by faith, with Jesus Christ, and then do what He teaches in His Word.