Things change. That's a pretty clear fact of life. We get older, we physically change, my hair is greyer than it was before. By pants are a different size. I don't act the same way that I did ten years ago (thankfully). We change. Hopefully most of the changes that we experience are good ones and we're growing in maturity and wisdom. That's one of my prayers for myself and my family. I pray that we're growing in the middle of all the change around us.
But if change is just focused on physical attributes or how we have grown in how we respond to situations in our lives, I think that we're missing something. As I look at the Bible, I see that change is not just about getting older, or even about getting wiser even though that's really important. A lot of the time its about God changing us. Sure we can call that wisdom or discernment and take credit for it if we wish, but then we lose something in the process. God is the actor in us maturing. The Spirit is transforming us. Christ's work is continuing in us for a purpose and as a part of a plan that's not of our making or design. And as God changes us more into the people that he wants us to be, he uses us for things that we never thought possible. If it were up to us, we'd miss them, but when we leave it to him, we discover gifts that we never knew we had. We meet people that we never thought could mean so much to us. We see things that were right in front of our face, but we never knew were there.
That's sort of my purpose here. Scripture sometimes uses the phrase "At one time....but now...." It's a phrase that the text uses to show change that's happened in the life of a Bible character.
"You ...were at one time disobedient to God (but) now have received mercy...."
A change. Not a change of human hands, but from God. A change from disobedience to receiving mercy. A change from alienation from God to acceptance and embrace. A change that I nor anyone else can take credit for.
I want to write some about those changes. I want to spend time thinking about what was, now what is, and what can be because of God's changes in my life and the lives of others.
I hope to learn a little in the process and be able to change my perspective on some things.
At one time, I wouldn't have done this sort of thing, but now......
Thanks for the post and the new blog. Your thoughts served as a good reminder for me. I tend to focus to much on what I can do to improve/change to become a better husband, dad, teachers, etc., instead of putting it before God in prayer.
ReplyDeleteKeep the writing coming....I smell a book deal someday!
-Matt
I'm reading. So keep writing.
ReplyDelete