I’d like to live in a what-if world.  A place where all the what-ifs in my heart were a reality.  Like:

What if everyone was just considerate of others?

I work for the NC Department of Transportation.  I love my job, but it’s not always easy or appreciated.  One day my boss and I were standing in the front yard of a very nice lady who had some concerns about work recently done.  As we were standing there, a jeep came by and the driver threw out a drink can in our direction.  I assume he was not real pleased with DOT.  Another day, I was out looking at some roads on the list to be resurfaced.  I was parked well off the shoulder of the road and was out of my truck taking some measurements.  Someone rode by and hollered out of their window at me.  Thankfully I couldn’t understand all that was said, but I understood their sentiment.  And that was not the only time something like that has happened.

Regardless of what we think about the work being done around us, none of us know the individuals performing those jobs.  Yes, there are some employees who give their employers a bad name.  But there are more hard-working people just trying to make a living.  What if people were just considerate of others instead of being rude and mean?

What if everyone was just respectful?

I know I’m getting old, but I remember the days when people in authority were given their due respect.  I’m not trying to get political, but the way I see our President mocked and degraded just really upsets me.  I’m not going to debate policy, but I was brought up to respectful of those in authority over us.  Teachers, policemen, government leaders, the military, etc.  And if we disagree with things, we have a voice to speak our mind to state our opinion.  But that right doesn’t mean we belittle or attack, it means we give our opinion about the way a problem should be handled, not the person making the policy.  There’s a difference between debating policy and attacking a person.  What if people were just respectful of other’s rights to their opinion and agree to disagree about issues instead of attacking someone for their disagreement?

What if everyone just told the truth?

The most obvious example is our media in regards to reporting about politics.  What is supposed to be freedom of the press has come to reporting opinions instead of all the facts.  There is always more to a story than the few sentences reported.  Depending on which news media a person watches or which publication they read, the same story takes on different slants.  And depending on which facts are brought out and which facts are left out, people hearing or reading just part of those facts rush to judgements not knowing the whole truth.  What if everyone just told the truth, stating facts that allowed people to make their own opinion instead of leading people to believe a certain way?

What if everyone just loved one another?

This is an age-old question if there ever was one.  As a Christian, I believe we are to love everyone as Christ loved everyone.  The problem is, whether we profess to be a Christian or not, we all battle against a sinful nature that many times gets in the way of behaving in a loving way.  And just because I believe we are to love everyone doesn’t mean I agree with the way they live.  I believe God’s Word.  If God calls something sin, then it is a sin.  But Christ died for everyone.  We all have the opportunity to come to Him and to accept Him as our Lord and Savior.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, the person of the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts.  When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our daily walk, we will exhibit the love of God in all we do.  It doesn’t mean we will condone the sin of people, but it means we will love those people even as we share the truth of God’s Word with them.  So if I believe God said something is a sin, why do people attack me?  God said it, I believe it.  What if everyone just loved one another enough to tell them about God and what Christ did for them to save them from their sin?

And the biggest what if I would like to experience is this.

What if Christ would return today?

When if find myself focusing on so many of the bad things going on in this world, I get so weary and tired of life.  But even as I wish things were different and people would just be kinder and nicer to those around them, I know the only thing that will really make a difference in this world is Jesus.  We live in a sinful world.  It’s not in our natural nature to be considerate, respectful, truthful or loving to others.

But as a believer, I have a hope within me for a day when Christ will return to take me to be with Him.  I long for that day more and more the older I get.

When I first started writing this, I had thought I would be ending by saying the what-if I most want to be a reality is Christ returning and taking me to heaven.  But the more I wrote, I had another what-if.  What if the return of Christ that is truly experienced is Christ coming into the hearts of people?  What if as believers we get on with what we are supposed to be doing by sharing Christ with others so that He can take up residence in their hearts?  What if we share with others how they can have a love living within them like the world can’t give them?  What if those of us who have Christ living in our hearts would really start allowing Him to guide us in every thought, every action, every word spoken?  What if the reason people are not considerate, respectful, truthful and loving is because we are not living what we profess to believe?

What if the return of Christ comes in the form of believers returning to Him?