So it looks like I'm back. At least I will try this again, or I will be adding more clutter to the internet. But I at least owe it to myself, if not to anyone else to write part 2 of the 'hope/change' idea.
Change. Humans either like change, hate change, or are indifferent to change and just go with whatever the flow is. I think I generally do not like change. I have always liked things the way they are. My mom tells me that when I was little, if she moved furniture I would be upset. I don't think I am quite that set in my ways now, but I still like a routine. I like to eat the same foods, dress the same way, etc. And I suppose most people are the same, or at least we carry out our daily lives, doing more or less the same thing, following the same traditions and trying to end up in the same place that we did the day before.
So how does the idea of sameness or routine square with the Word? When I think about change and the Bible, my first thoughts are concepts like 'repentance'. At it's very core, repentance is change. That is the essential understanding of repentance. To repent is to change; dramatically. I was going this way and then I changed direction and went a different way. Dramatically is not overstated. When Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” This was in response to Andrew & Philip when they told Jesus that some Greeks wished an audience with him. (John 12:24 RSV). Jesus was speaking about his own death and resurrection (see v23), but he was speaking about a principle that is for us as well. Except we change (die to the old, the routine), we will remain isolated (alone and lonely, unfruitful); but if we change (repent) we will bear much fruit (a plentiful, bounteous, rich life). The image is from agriculture, which I am familiar with. Plant a single seed such as corn in the earth, and something happens, the seed changes as it's impacted by the sun, the rain, and the nutrients in the earth. It dies, changing completely from what it once looked like and then shoots up out of the earth. The seed, maybe three of them to the inch, becomes a plant reaching 6 feet or more toward the sky; bearing 2 or 3 ears of corn with hundreds of seeds.
This is what Jesus calls us to, to change. Without this process, the scriptures indicate that real death occurs. But with the change process, with repentance, real life occurs. A small part of us dies but yields great amounts of fruit. Here's a for instance: If I go to the doctor and each year he tells me to lose weight, and each year I ignore him and gain 5 pounds a year, I will finally reach a point where it impacts my health; my heart, my joints, my blood sugar, etc. But if I follow his advice, and at some point of the weight gain, I begin to exercise, eat right, etc; my life will change and I will live longer and in greater health. Spiritually we can experience the same types of things. We may have behaviors, lifestyle choices, habits, character flaws that are causing our spiritual selves (and perhaps our physical selves as well) harm. And it may be impacting our families and friends as well. But then Jesus calls us to repent, to change and if we do, a new way of life opens up to us. The harm we were inflicting on ourselves and others changes. We become the new creature promised in scripture.
But is the change process self-propelled as it were? No, the way I understand scripture is that we cooperate with His grace. He gives us grace and we cooperate with the process. I do think we can do things to cooperate more readily with His grace and they are simple: read and study the Word, pray (not just for ourselves but for others; and ask the Holy Spirit for help), fellowship with other Christians, attend and participate in the local church, etc. And finally is this repentance, this change a one time process? From what I understand and have experienced, the answer is a resounding 'no'; as this is the way that Jesus calls us to live. If we are to truly be alive in Christ, He calls us to grow, which requires repentance/change. This is the christian life. It is not a one time event, it is the way He calls us to live.
To continue this series, I plan on writing on a theme called 'The 3rd Kingdom'. It is really about how we are called to live lives of hope & change. I do plan at some point releasing some fiction I have written, that expresses these themes in the short story format.
