There was a man who never wrote a book, never held political office, never led an army, and never traveled more than a few hundred miles from where He was born. And yet… your life today has been shaped by Him. Whether you believe in Him or not, whether you follow Him or not. Whether you’ve ever even thought about Him deeply or not.
His name is Jesus. And the truth is, modern society just doesn’t even make sense without Him.
For example, you write dates like it’s nothing- 2026.
Based on what? Not a king. Not a war. Not a government.
A man.
A carpenter from Nazareth who never held office, never commanded armies, and was executed like a criminal. And somehow… everything revolves around Him.
The fact is, we measure time by His life. Before Him (BC). After Him (AD). Wouldn’t you think that there had to be something of major significance to dictate the very way that the human race measures time?
Every date you’ve ever written, every calendar you’ve followed, every deadline you’ve met, anchors itself to the reality that something happened when He came into the world.
That alone should make someone pause.
History has seen great emperors, philosophers, warriors, and kings… yet none of them divided time itself. And guess what? His impact didn’t stop at the calendar.
The very ideas we often take for granted, such as human dignity, equality, compassion for the weak, care for the poor... these weren’t always the default setting of the world.
Before Jesus, power defined worth. Strength determined value. If you were weak, poor, sick, or unwanted… you were often discarded, ignored, or worse. Just open a history book, not even the Bible.
Then Jesus stepped in and flipped the entire script.
He touched lepers. He honored women. He welcomed children. He sat with outcasts. He said things like, “the last will be first,” and actually lived like it was true.
And over time, those ideas didn’t just echo behind church walls in sermons, they built hospitals, inspired charities, influenced laws, and reshaped cultures.
Even people who reject Christianity today still live in a world deeply influenced by its values.
You believe people have value, don’t you? That every life matters? That the weak should be protected? That the poor shouldn’t be ignored? That injustice is wrong? It wasn’t always that way. So where did that come from?
Hospitals?
That came from people who believed caring for the sick mattered because of Him.
Charity?
The idea that you should give without expecting anything back, rooted in His teachings.
Human rights?
Built on the belief that people carry inherent value—not because of status, but because of something deeper.
You don’t have to credit Him. But you’re standing in something He started. In fact, you don’t have to believe any in anything related to this man to benefit from it. But you are benefiting from it.
And then there’s the cross. At face value, it was just another Roman execution. One more man nailed to a wooded beam by an empire that crushed thousands. This event is indisputable in history, that a man named Jesus lived and was killed under this particular political regime, in this very manner.
But there's something about this singular execution, unlike all the others, that didn’t just fade. Because the claim wasn’t just that He died, but why he died, and then what happened. He was, by admission of the government, without fault. There was no reason!
“For God so loved the world…”
So who does that??
Who chooses suffering when they could avoid it?
Who forgives while being murdered?
Who claims authority not by taking life, but by laying His down?
That kind of love doesn’t fit anywhere… unless it’s real.
That idea, that love would willingly suffer, that sacrifice could redeem, that forgiveness could be extended even in the face of brutality, has echoed through centuries.
It has shaped art, music, literature, law, and the quiet inner moral compass of millions who have never even opened a Bible.
Even now, in a world that often tries to move past Him, His fingerprints are everywhere.
You can debate theology. You can question doctrine. You can wrestle with the church.
But you can’t honestly say Jesus wasn’t real (its literally proven historically for those who aren’t lazy and ignorant). And you can’t say he had no impact.
Because the world you woke up in today has already been shaped by Him, not just in minor ways. Deeply and permanently shaped by him.
So the real question isn’t whether He impacted the world. That part is undeniable to anyone who isn't just oblivious.
Maybe the real question is this: if this one, short life, changed all of history… What could it do in yours?
~ Devin
Devin Osborne
