What I would say if I had ten minutes to change the world

Note: This essay won second place in the Colorado CFC Scholarship Essay Contest.

For centuries, mankind has been plagued with darkness, despair, hatred and meaningless violence. Only one source claims to know the answer to the world’s problems, the reason those problems exist, and how those problems can be solved. This source is known today as Christianity, as it has been officially titled for two hundred centuries.
Though Christians have been strongly persecuted over the years, the expansion of the faith was unstoppable. It began spreading in the Middle East during the life of its founder, Jesus Christ. From there, it rapidly spread to the most remote corners of the earth. But the way of Christianity has not always been an easy way.
To this day, Christianity is still persecuted, even in an advanced society like the United States. Christianity is daily put down in American schools, courtrooms, and media. Because of the persecution Christianity has faced (which has been worse than any other persecution for a religion), we can be confident of the truth to be found within.
The three basic pillars of Christianity are the foundation of every true Christian’s belief. While some of these concepts go by different names, the content should be the same.

The first pillar of this unique faith is known as the concept of total depravity.
Total depravity is the belief that no man on earth has anything to offer to the Creator of the universe, who requires absolute perfection and adherence to His law. This depravity is evidenced everywhere we look in the world today: In the meaningless dictatorial slaughter of Saddam Hussein’s own subjects, and in the historical example of the Nazi concentration camps.
Perhaps the most obvious example of this depravity is the everyday procedure right here in the United States called abortion. No matter which way we turn, it is abundantly clear that the world has nothing to offer God, as has been the case since man fell by disobeying God’s law in the Garden of Eden.
As horrible as the listed things are, it becomes increasingly evident that the good works a man can do are just as meaningless: No amount of money given to charity and no amount of kindness toward anyone can earn anyone appreciation in God’s eyes. God is a just God, and He requires complete adherence to His perfect laws. It is unfortunately true that no one on earth is able to obey God’s laws from top to bottom, nor does anyone in the world have an inherent desire to do so. This inability and apathy is due to a combination of demonic whisperings and a surly, wicked human nature. However, without complete obeisance to the perfect divine law, all human beings are destined to spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire, under relentless torture and in unending pain.

The complete wretchedness and helplessness of the human race thus established, it is now imperative that we examine the next pillar of the Christian faith: that of saving grace.
While it has been earlier stated that God is a just God, it is in order to now add that God is also a gracious God. The significance of this principle is that every person on earth will not spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. This is made possible by the complete redeeming grace offered by God through His son, Jesus Christ.
This is where Christianity is set apart from every other religion, past or present, in any worldly culture. The concept of a religious leader who dies so that every single person who follows Him may live eternally is something completely unique, and it is made even more astounding by the fact that Jesus was brought back to life after three days of being dead.
Leaders like Buddha, Mohammed and Joseph Smith never died-not just for their followers at the time, but for anyone in the future who was willing to put their faith in them-and they were certainly never raised from the dead. The simple reason for this is that no matter what they claim, no other religious leader has been both completely God and completely man, a combination called the hypostatic union. No other religious leader has had the hypostatic union; therefore no other religious leader has had the power to raise themselves from the dead.
Now that the reality of Christ’s resurrection is established, the significance of this miraculous event must be closely examined.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were God’s plan to redeem His people from the power of sin. Jesus’ life was designed to tell people about their depravity and to serve God on earth. His death was to take His Father’s wrath upon Himself, so that God’s wrath would not be poured onto the human race. And His resurrection was necessary to prove His victory over death itself, the most feared of corporeal enemies. With death conquered and an omnipresent God who cares about each person, Christians have nothing to fear either in life (from people, nature or God’s wrath) or in death. True Christians are not only striving for a more Christ-like lifestyle, but they are also guaranteed an eternity with the God they love in Heaven. The influence of Christianity on the world’s current problems will be massive. When everyone in every country around the world truly accepts true Christianity, the world will become a much better place for each and every individual. Fear of both life and death will be significantly reduced, and individuals will strive to be kinder, more patient, more loving, and less sinful.

It is important to remember, also, that while the lifestyle Christianity creates is significantly less burdened than that of the unbeliever, no one’s life-not even a Christian’s-is ever going to be perfectly free of trials and tribulations. However, when we know that God has our best interests in mind, our situations in His hands, and His incredible love for us in His heart, we cannot be defeated by anything the world tries to bring us down with.
God offers at least one escape from every sinful temptation presented to every person. He also tells us that we are not faced with any temptation more severe than other people have faced in the past: It is simply His help and our faith in that help which brings us untouched through the fiery furnace of temptations.

In summary, the life Jesus offers through His suffering and resurrection is much more than simply a more peaceful life here on earth. The Christian way of life cultivates the good traits that are not present in each person inherently, but are gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as patience, love, perseverance, faith and peace. There is no doubt in my mind that instituting Christianity in every single country would lead to an increase in true Christians. This increase would trigger a drop in gratuitous violations of God’s perfect law. Christianity for all nations would significantly, permanently, and positively change the world.


That is what I would say if I had ten minutes to change the world.