Change.
It is likely one of the most detested words in the
English language (unless when used to denote money, that is). Merely mention
it, and people will respond with visceral reactions of apprehension, fear,
and/or resistance. Understanding why such reactions are so common is not
difficult. We are obsessed with comfort, dependent on routine, and enamored of
the status quo. We’ve all heard the phrase a thousand times: “If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it,” which is just another way of saying don’t go changing
things up just for the heck of it.
But what if things really are “broke”?
Is change always a bad thing? Somehow I think we all know
deep down that the answer to this question is a resounding “no.” So why, then, do we so often automatically
react negatively to the idea of change? Perhaps it is because change requires
adjustment and because we also know deep down that adjustment makes us uncomfortable—and
we detest being uncomfortable.
But as Christians, we have not been called to a life of
comfort. We were not saved out of our depravity to live lives of ease and
pleasure but rather to live in surrender to the One who died for us. We were
rescued not for our own sake but for His. He experienced the ultimate
discomfort in absorbing the full brunt of the wrath of God, and we have been
called to follow Him—which means carrying a cross. Every. Single. Day.
Yet too often we are more concerned with maintaining a high
level of comfort than we are with developing a lifestyle of holiness. We would
much rather be catered to personally than serve others ourselves. We are more
than content to sit back in the comfy recliner of assurance, knowing that we
will be going to Heaven one day, and ride out the rest of our earthly lives
encountering as little disruption as possible.
But the gospel is not about that.
Jesus didn’t become a human, live 33 years on this depraved
earth, suffer the ultimate punishment for doing absolutely nothing wrong, and
then rise from the dead just so we wouldn’t have to go to hell. Yes, that’s
certainly part of it, but it’s so much more than that! He came to right the
wrongs caused by the Fall, to restore man’s relationship to God, to creation,
to other humans, and to himself. Jesus did what He did so that we could live a
new life now, so that we could share
His good news and bring Him glory here.
On this earth. In 2015. And 2016. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians
5:17, ESV).
Now that’s some major change right there.
And, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us
to himself and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to
himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the
message of reconciliation. Therefore, we
are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2
Corinthians 5:18-20a, ESV, emphasis added). So basically, we have a job to do.
It won’t always be easy, but it’s why we’ve been saved.
As David Platt writes, “Grace brings about change” (Platt and
Merida 2014, 11).
In other words, change is fundamental to the gospel itself.
In being brought from death to life, we have experienced the greatest change of
all, and that initial change produces continual change as we are daily
sanctified, made more like Christ.
So when we encounter change in this life, let’s try to look
at it through the lens of sanctification instead of the lens of selfishness.
Before getting uptight and upset over minor adjustments or even major
alterations, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and reveal to us
when we are being more in love with comfort than with Christ. And meanwhile,
may we direct our attention to the broken parts of our own lives and allow Him
to bring about the change in us that His death and resurrection has made
possible.
Citation: Platt, David and Tony Merida. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Galatians. Nashville: Holman Reference, 2014.
