Change should be a 4-letter word

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (NRSV)

Just as the ocean transforms the beach, providing life and renewal, so too, we must change and evolve. Stagnancy brings foulness. But it is so unsettling for us to contemplate change.

Many people think that change should be a 4-letter word! Change is so difficult that a bestseller was penned, Who Moved My Cheese?: An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson, MD. Cheese is a metaphor for what we want in life whether spiritual, relational, occupational, or more basically a stable home and enough food to eat. The maze is where we look to get our needs met, sometimes ending up in dead ends, sometimes negotiating the same route over and over.

Well, our lives and, thus, our cheese is on the move! But we have a lot of biblical examples of this process. Isn’t that why the Jews and society balked at Jesus’ ministry? Jesus was a forward thinker, a theological interpreter, an advocate for social justice, and a teacher of a transformed understanding of who God is, how we can relate to God, and how we need to relate to one another.

The question with which we all are faced is, can we let go of our agendas and seek to understand God’s will for our future. Can we trust that God will lead us through the maze despite our desire to repeat patterns and go with the crowd? I love the father's response to Jesus' healing his son from a dangerous spirit, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24b, NRSV)

Some of the ways that people bogged down are:

• Change IS Difficult

• Change is What Others Have to Deal with

• Not me or my friends

• Change is Avoided re: “what we’ve always done”, “cherished’, &/or “valued”

• Change is fine as long as it ADDS to, but doesn’t detract from, tradition & what has worked in the past.

• What will YOU have to give up for God to lead you boldly into the future?

Who is God calling you to become if you are BOLD and BRAVE?