Change is good

A few years ago I was amused by a T-shirt a young fellow wore. On the front it read, "Change is good." On the back it said, "You first!" That is the way we often feel about change, I expect. Rarely do we change significantly unless we have to. But there is one change that disciples feel is truly good. And that's the change we experience when we are welcomed into the saving grace of God in Christ. That's the beginning of a life-long transformation, moving toward that humanity which Jesus makes possible for us through the life of his Spirit. Even so, it's interesting that many churches and Christians are resistant to change.

"I have often heard people remark that churches do not like change," writes Diana Butler Bass, "that they provide refuge from change, or that they resist change." She goes on to comment that in the New Testament, "Jesus asks everyone to change. With the exception of children, Jesus insists that every person he meets do something and change. The whole message of the Christian scripture is based in the idea of metanoia, the change of heart that happens when we meet God face-to-face." [Christianity for the Rest of Us, Harper]

Change for its own sake is obviously not necessary, but change for Christ's sake is. Part of the change we are called toward as disciples is to let our witness shine.