Society seems to hate change and as Christians we are no different. I used to despise that saying because I thought it implied only negative change. My mind and heart were so negative before Christ that regardless of what people said to me, I interpreted it as undesirable. Living and learning has definitely had a way of making me see the positive in every situation. And as God transformed my heart and mind, I began to wonder how many Christians live life thinking that God is punishing them because situations, people and things in their lives have changed. We may not always find meaning in our life changes immediately, but if we live in faith and take comfort in what Romans 8:28 says, we know that God is working for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Christ. (Not just working to our benefit, but the benefit of ALL those who love the Lord.)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. On the merry-go-round of life, this saying seems like more bad news. Who wants to hear that for all the hard work put into life, inevitably they will remain stuck in the same situation, different day down the road of life. However, as a Christian what I have come to learn is that with each growing pain or new dilemma, and for every mountain climbed and valley realized, there is a certain level of familiarity we feel. Every situation cannot be completely new or how else could we reference it in our lives? How could we see how God has moved if all things seemed disconnected? We would never “live and learn” if every situation was completely separate and detached from the previous and/or following one.
Change is hard. No one ever said life was easy; and if they did, they lied. Change is hard, and nothing about it is perpetually comfortable or smooth. Being a Christian, we are called to endure suffering. After all, Jesus suffered and he was perfect! It’s rough to walk along the narrow road, and changing to walk on the narrow path of life eternal can mean you lose friends in the process. It can mean your family distances themselves from you. It can mean you are all lonely in that journey. But, embracing life means a new path to salvation. It means that one may find a peace. And honestly, it can mean a lot of wonderful things if the right attitude is present.
People don’t change, only situations do. God promised he would never change. The good news is he has the power to change any situation, any person and any thing. I happen to believe that people do change precisely because God is still in control. Because the only thing constant in life is God’s unchanging hand; we can rest assured that change in us is a sign of God’s work in progress. Change is what makes our lives full, rich and ripe with godly substance.
Take a moment and Google the word “change”. Websites such as www.change.org, www.change.gov, and Webster’s definition of change are among the first listings retrieved. If we rely on the secular world to define “change”, we lose out on opportunities for God to show us his glory, and instead become slaves to fear of the inevitable unknown that change can bring. As Christians, what we can do to view life’s changes as evidence of God’s positive work in us and not his negative judgment against us?
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