Global warming seems to be on everyone's mind. Scientists are running tests in their laboratories. Political candidates are dreaming up their own "green" policies for upcoming elections. The heavyweights of Hollywood are filming public service announcements and organizing benefit concerts. Now even you can do your part in fighting the good fight. Have you heard about the "carbon footprints" we all supposedly leave behind us? Stop by the site www.carbonfootprint.com and you'll learn that they are "a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced." In other words, by the fuel we burn on the way to work and the hair products we use, we each leave a "footprint" in the wide, growing path of global destruction. At the aforementioned site, you can even take the time to figure out just how big your personal carbon footprint is. Simply fill out the interactive on-line form—which asks for estimates of natural gas usage, wattage settings and even the mileage of your car over the past year—and you're well on your way to figuring out just how much "damage" you are doing throughout your day. Take heart, though—there's hope offered on the other side of the bad news. The site goes on to offer a litany of suggestions for lifestyle change.

This is all very interesting (and controversial, no less), but it really gets one to thinking about a more inconvenient truth—sin.

For every act of rebellion—every vicious word, every selfish act, every unhealthy state of mind—we further impress our own personal footprint in the wide, growing path of spiritual destruction. By just one misstep, these are the wages: the world will never quite be the same again—and not for the better. It's enough to turn you green, but in an entirely different way.

The good news, of course, is that we can leave another print of an entirely different kind. With every act of redemption—every kind word, every selfless act, every healthy state of mind—we can further impress the personal footprint of the One who walked before us, ushering in his new kingdom alongside him. By just one sure step, the world will never quite be the same again—and for the better indeed.