Change is Good

“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes (Job 14:14).

Many in this world oppose change because they have grown accustomed to a certain way of life. But if we want to be recognized by God as Christians, change has to take place. The first step in becoming a child of God is change. Some say that God accepts us the way we are, but the Bible doesn’t say we are to remain unchanged: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God calls us the way we are, but it is a call to change: “[A]ll the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance” (Acts 26:20). Change is essential to living a godly life.

Christ died so that we could have a change of spirit. Our spirit is of the flesh and that must change to be like God: “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’” (John 3:5-6). Our physical birth gave us life in the flesh and we lived that life according to the flesh. For change to take place in us we must be born again into the Spirit of God. If we are born into His Spirit then our lives are guided and driven by His Spirit: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). God has brought change to the way we live our lives by sending His Spirit to lead us into a new way of life.

Christ also died to bring change to our creation: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old things are our desires to live according to the flesh. When we are clothed with Christ our demeanor changes as we now walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). God created us as creatures of choice that we might choose to live in a way that reveals our love for Him. In the flesh we made wrong choices and that caused a separation between us and God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Being in Christ has transformed our bodies into a spiritual temple in which God Himself now dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16). We are changed from a tool of Satan to a dwelling place for God. We now function as part of a body that works to glorify God Who created us. We have become regenerated into a new spiritual being.

Christians cannot be afraid of change because God has saved us from the results of an unchanged lifestyle. He has called us to a change in the way He sees us: “[F]or you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). God’s demand for change is not so bad. It is a change from a life without His mercy to a life full of His mercy. It is a change from living a life that reveals death to a life that reveals life eternal. Let God change your desires, your hope and your mindset so He can change where you will spend eternity.

In His Grace,
Cub