Thought for Today
Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
Numbers 23:19 God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Matthew 18:3 "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Hebrews 7:12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
One of my favorite jokes is: “How many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb?” Ans. “CHANGE?!?” The issue of change and of adapting or adjusting to change is on my mind this week. Between my recent cataract surgery and our President’s announcement about not seeking reelection, I feel there has been a sea of change this week.
Why are we so averse to change? Our stubborn refusal to accept change, our dread of change both seem to increase in direct proportion to our advancing age. More and more, I find myself wishing that the Prophet of Ecclesiastes had added one more ‘time for’ statement: “a time for change and a time for everything to stay the same.” I often find myself longing for that time for everything to stay the same. I ask myself, “Wouldn’t it be nice for everything to stay just as it is?”
Would it be? As long as I am confessing that I talk to myself, I also often remind myself (and everybody who will listen to me) that “We never live in the world in which we grew up.” When I wistfully wish for homeostasis (In biology, homeostasis is the state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. – Wikipedia), I realize that change is as fundamentally basic to human life as is the air we breathe.
Do I really want to go back to the world of the 1940s? The 1950s? To anywhere in the past? Despite my sometimes frustration with technology, I cannot imagine giving up my computer, my smartphone, power steering in my car and so many of the other modern conveniences upon which I rely. In that world, I would be typing this on a manual typewriter, using carbon paper, and then mailing it to everyone. Instead, I am composing this on my computer and will then (after Greta vets it) email it, post it on my Facebook page and the church’s Facebook page.
As I pondered all this today, I did a search using my Bible software to see what scripture says about adapting to change, about adjusting to change. Surprisingly, neither ‘adapt’ nor ‘adjust’ appear in scripture. We are told (thankfully) that God never changes. We are told (challengingly) that we must change.
Why are Christians challenged to change? Why do we resist changing? I cannot imagine any Christian not wanting to enter the kingdom of heaven. If entrance is predicated upon changing, why then would we resist changing? Yet, we do. Almost universally, humans resist changing . . . anything and everything.
Maybe it would be best were we to think about accepting some change. The Bible does talk about accepting. “Proverbs 2:1 My child, if you accept my words and treasure up my commandments within you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; 4 if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures-- 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
Paul accepted change, adapted to that change. Paul admitted that he persecuted Followers of the Way. But, Paul encountered Jesus; and afterwards Paul did change. Paul was transformed by his encounter and completely changed his life.
The next time I find myself resisting change, the next time I encounter political change, as I adapt to the changes in my vision, I will recall the words from Proverbs, I will remember the change in Paul’s life, and I will accept the changes I face.
Stay safe, seek God’s wisdom in life’s changes, trust God,
Pastor Ray