Do you know something I find fascinating? The fact that we are continually changing. And, no, I do not mean physically as we are aging. I mean internally. Who I am today is not who I was yesterday, a week ago, or a year ago. Neither are you. Look at the day’s past. You have changed so much!
Isn’t it beautiful? You have grown so much! You are further along in your walk with God than you have ever been before. And yet, you keep walking. You keep going. You keep growing! You keep learning, changing. The ability to change is truly a blessing.
Think of all those in your life that taught you and modeled for you what you needed to learn about the gospel and Christian living. It can be anybody; your grandparent, neighbor, parent, friends, spouse, pastor, maybe even a stranger. They helped you change!
We all tend to look to another to learn from and to follow in a good example. Take a moment to reach out to any church leader in your life that has impacted your life… That has helped you change for the better and further your Christian walk. Thank them. Thank them for what they mean to you and how they have influenced you.
Keep in mind how you impact others too! How you influence them. Because guess what? Some look to you too, who learn from you. You impact others’ lives, changing them just as you are changing. We are all continually growing. In a sense, we are all church leaders. We are all equal brothers and sisters. No one is better than another. Are some of us at different points in our walk with God? Sure! But we don’t just stay immobile, we continue.
This brings up a very important point, however. When thinking about the topic of change our minds can go to the subject of being hurt. At least, mine did. I know you have hurt people in your life. I have. The blessing about it is that we’ve learned from those bad experiences, those bad arguments, sharp tongues, bad thoughts. We have changed. We are better than that now. But let me ask you, have you forgiven those who hurt you?
You see as you learn from bad experiences, so do others. We are changing. But sometimes, we tend to view others as always being the same. We place them inside this box of predictability. And regarding those who hurt us, we sometimes just cannot let that go. “So-and-so will never change.” This results in us being surprised, exclaiming, “You’ve changed!” when someone is no longer the same or has turned a new leaf.
Change is good. Change is needed. We as people are only human. We make mistakes. We hurt others. We get hurt by others. We are learning. We are growing. We are continually changing. Honestly, I am so happy to know that we are changeable and never unchanging. Because, with how broken we truly are, to be unchanging would make daily life hopeless.
If we were unchanging, no longer would we pray for those who were lost. No longer would we find it in ourselves to forgive those that hurt us. No longer would we take notice of and change the wrongfulness in us. No longer would there be church leaders (Literal or metaphorical) because no longer would there be any need to set examples, teach, or model Christian living. Because to be impactful means we play a part in changing one’s life for the better.
God is amazing. He’s bestowed the blessing of change. The unchanging God who is perfect and good in every way bestowed us to be changeable… We can become from broken to whole. We can learn. Grow. Change. We have hope.
Yes, thank those who impacted your life. Who helped you along in your walk with God. Be a church leader yourself. Helping others in their walk. Pray for those who hurt you. Learn from your wrongdoings too.
But, before I end my post here, let me add just one more thing. Sometimes change is not always good. There will always be some change that brings about stumbling blocks, false teachings, and all kinds of different wrongfulness. This is why we must never idolize changeable people. Keep your eyes on the unchanging one. And remember this: In a changing world, we can always trust our unchanging Lord.
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:7-8
Featured Image by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Scriptural Musings with Booferchick 
Loved the article. Change is important in our lives, and as we grow both physically and spiritually we must be willing to allow change in our lives. I like the way you highlighted the point that other people change too. Sometimes, we think that those who have hurt us in the past are still the same people. That may be true, but most of the times they also experience change and we should be susceptible to see that change in them. Furthermore, our Lord Jesus Christ always remains the same, and we can draw on His power to have positive change in us. We can continue to conform to His image in our bodies and souls, and experience the perfection that is already present in our born again spirits.
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