Cha,cha,changes... From the moment of conception change began its effect upon ones life. This pivotal moment began the cycle of perpetual change. A baby in the womb must continue to change or she/he will die. Birth, one of lifes most radical and miraculous changes, must happen for both the mother and the child to survive. The change that occurs in an infant to a walking toddler results in bumps and bruises. Puberty is a rollercoaster of biological change that can be painful and frightening. Bodies slowing down due to age is a change that frustrates and alters the way one must live. Physically change can be radical, daunting and painful, but part of God’s miraculous design. Yet change, physically speaking, seems not to end when one breathes that final breath but rather change again occurs as the Word promises, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (I Corinthians 15:53-54). Change, however, is not and cannot be relegated to only the physical; emotional change equating a maturing in ones life, mental change resulting in the increase of wisdom and knowledge and most importantly, spiritual change must all occur or one stagnates and slowly dies. Change is a crucial life factor and should be embraced, yet we fight it because of the unknown. The faith walk that is required in a life of change matures our minds, souls and hearts. Again, we find in Scripture the necessity and beauty of change. Romans 12:2 states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Transformation in the Greek it is μεταμορφοῦσθε (metamorphousthe) meaning change, transfigure, transform. We are in the process of metamorphosis, like the caterpillar to a butterfly in the chrysalis, and the process is mysterious. One website described the process of caterpillar to butterfly as this: “The transformation itself is amazing. Think of it as recycling -- if you drop a plastic bottle off in the recycling bin, it can be melted down into an entirely different shape. This is what happens inside the chrysalis. Much of the body breaks itself down into imaginal cells, which are undifferentiated-- like stem cells, they can become any type of cell. The imaginal cells put themselves back together into a new shape. A few parts of the body, such as the legs, are more or less unchanged during this process. This process of complete transformation is known as holometabolism” (How Caterpillars Work). This too applies to our lives as followers of Jesus; we are a new creation, transformed from death to life, from one “cell type” into a new shape, the image of Christ. The president of Biola University, Dr. Barry Corey addressed the new students last Saturday night regarding the change that was taking effect that evening. Parents said goodbye to their children. The new students embarked on a life altering course that would shape their minds, hearts and souls, changing them from the teens they were and prayerfully into the godly young men and women who would alter the course of history for Christ. But change can hurt, it is not certain and it requires confidence in One greater than self. Dr. Corey shared that the word confidence, con meaning “with” and fides, meaning “trust, reliance, belief and faith” (in the Latin) is the required antidote to this life of uncertainty. The confidence is not in self, or others or institutions, but in God alone. One must place his faith in God so that the changes life inevitably brings will transform the person into the image of Jesus Christ. “By faith (confidence) Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). The changes that occurred in Abraham, that affected those around him and ultimately altered the world through Jesus Christ, happened because Abraham had confidence in the One who called him to pull up his tent stakes and follow God to a new place. Much in the same way, the disciples pulled up proverbial tent stakes when Jesus said, “Follow me”. The choice to follow changed their lives for eternity because they followed the Life Changer. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” We too are being transformed as followers of Jesus. We too are called to pull up our tent stakes and walk after Christ. The changes that 2014 has brought to my life thus far have been fairly monumental and I desire to cling to what is familiar, yet am forced, by virtue of growth, to enter into the changes. With one daughter moved onto Biola’s campus, another engaged, another graduated from high school and seeking God’s guidance on her next step and a final year to homeschool my son before he graduates high school, life altering change is changing me, and it hurts as it stretches. Yet all this forces my eyes to either look to the One who transforms me into His image, or shrink inward in fear of what the future holds. Each of us are living in the midst of change. Some of us are running like Jonah, some of us are boldly embracing it, some are crying out to the Lord saying, “If you had only been here________” and clinging desperately to a strand of faith that is frail. Our confidence must be placed in the One who does not change. Whatever may be the story of one’s life right now, claim this promise in the midst of transformation, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 03:58:54 +0000
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