Change is just a part of life. Even if we try to keep things the same, change happens around us and in us despite if we desire for things to remain as they are. Some people thrive with change, and others want no part of it. Everyone is designed uniquely as they reflect the character of God in different ways.
God, however, is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8). Why, then, is the world around us ever-changing? Are there any parts of God that do change? Are there parts of us that never change? Should we be excited about change, or should we try to stop it? These are the questions that I’ve been asking as we come to the end of this semester of Bible School, as winter is suddenly upon us, as my kids are coming to the age of getting ready to leave home, and as I look inwardly at what God might want to change in me.
The thing is, if we do nothing, things change on their own. For example, ponds grow stagnant, muscles atrophy, weeds grow, and boats drift while at sea. All resulting from no counteraction to change (Proverbs 12:24).
If we work with change, things develop, new experiences and discoveries are made, and some things can even be transformed. The examples that come to mind are when someone starts exercising, pulling the weeds, or anchoring the boat. These are things that counteract unwanted change while stimulating good changes.
There are also positive ways that “not changing anything” affects change. It is not “doing nothing” but rather the discipline of faithfulness, diligence and patience in doing a certain thing, which yields growth (a form of change). Examples of this might be consistent exercise, continual tending to a garden or diligent Bible study (2 Peter 1:10).
But what we see in the character of the unchanging God, the One who remains the constant in our lives despite the possibility of everything else changing; He is faithful, dependable, everlasting, He was, is, and will always be, and He is Truth. He is the Truth that all parts of life measure against. And He is perfect. He then is the standard for the direction of our change. In our lives, are we changing by moving toward Him – His character and His glory? Or are we moving towards change against and away from Him (Romans 8:5-6)?
The season of Advent is a perfect time to renew our focus on Jesus Christ, who came to earth as a baby, changing in bodily form as He grew physically and in wisdom as He became a man (Luke 2:52). He then gave His Life so that we might have and experience unchanging Eternal Life all of our days – in our bodily form and beyond (John 10:10). He came so that we might be changed once and for all, being reconciled by Him to God the Father, given Holy Spirit, allowing us to experience His presence forever (Romans 5:10).
So I find myself asking, “Which direction am I moving? And are there ways that I could move with the changes- the transformation – Jesus Christ wants to bring about in my life, for His glory?” And, I can’t help but be grateful for the gift of His Presence, knowing that the change He allows in my life brings me ever closer to the One Who never changes (Romans 8:34-39).
By: April Galbraith
