Many people of faith feel challenged by recent events in the world. How can we respond to external forces that upset or anger us in an appropriate and loving manner? How can we let our faith speak to people whose actions we cannot accept?

Writing from prison, George Fox admonished us to "be valiant for Truth upon earth. [...] Be patterns, be examples in all places, [...] wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people [...] then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one."

Mahatma Gandhi instructed us to "be the change you wish to see in the world."

Well, these all sound like pretty tall orders. I, for one, often have a hard time feeling like I'm much of a "pattern" for others to copy. How can I set an example for anyone else?

Just as the Chinese proverb tells us, however, that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." We can each do something each day, in every interaction we have, in every thought we think, to "be the change we seek."

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr reminded us, "we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal." The life of faith is not just the goal we seek, it is also the path to that goal.

As a first step towards "answering that of God in every one," we can each work to treat the people we deal with in a way that respects their dignity. We can respond in a manner and using a language that encourages understanding and communication on a higher level. With a little bit of effort and concentration, we can each start today, in our own ways, to "be valiant for Truth upon earth."

Starting now, I can be a better pattern than I was able to be yesterday. I'm ready to let my life speak for my faith, even in the very small ways that I'm capable of today.