Accepting change

ACTS 6:14 “For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.”

People by and large detest change. Personally I do not have a problem with it and in many cases welcome change. I am not very fond of monotony so I like new challenges and new routines. I have seen others rant and rave and gripe and moan over changes which require them to go out of their way in their daily routine.

One instance in particular came when my employer changed email providers. A woman in my department was quite vocal in her dissatisfaction with the new format. During one of her rants I calmly introduced a few neat features it had to offer and once she tried it she was hooked! It is amazing what frustration you can avoid when you simply give something a fair chance and keep an open mind. The truth is she did not truly dislike the new mail format, what she despised was change.

Many people reject the Gospel because the one thing most everyone knows about becoming a Christian is it requires changing your life. Most people are so comfortable with the life they are living they do not want to upset the apple cart which makes them less receptive to learn about Jesus. Conversely, those who are miserable and unhappy are usually easy converts.

What if the lost never change? Hell is a huge price to pay just because you have an aversion to change. When you are sharing the Gospel you not only have to overcome belief barriers but also show the person the change is well worth accepting.

Resistance to change among believers can also be a hindrance to reaching people for Christ. Many churches get comfortable in the way they go about their business and become very closed off to outsiders. This defeats the purpose of even having a local church. Our commission is to go out into the world and reach the lost, not find a group of like-minded believers and meet with them regularly just for the sake of doing it.

The Jews in Jesus’ day were quite happy with the way they conducted their worship and had no interest in the changes Jesus and His followers brought. I doubt anyone can argue how making blood sacrifices with animals on a regular basis is more beneficial to mankind than Jesus atoning for the sin once and for all. These same Jews most likely would not have even argued with this logic but they were so opposed to change, including the changing of their minds, they were not open to Jesus’ ministry.

Many local churches, as well as individual Christians, are in dire need of change but fight it tooth and nail. If you do not accept change in your life then you are useless to God because it is through change and adversity we grow.

The greatest change of all awaits believers in the future. Philippians 3:21 tells us Jesus “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” I would certainly welcome any change Jesus can make in me, because I know it will be a major improvement.