Who Needs Change?

People change. Life changes. You change. I change. The only thing that stays the same is change itself.

If I were honest with myself (and with you) I would admit that change sometimes affects me in negative ways. I like sleeping in my own bed. I like being at home more and more. I avoid travelling on airplanes. I like eating lunch at noon and dinner by 6 pm; breakfast before 9 am is crucial. Well I am retired now.

My wife tells me that I am getting “set in my ways.” I guess I am. Sorry.  I repent!

Yet there is a kind of change I do embrace. Theologians, pastors, and priests refer to this type of change as “transformation.”

Transformation as I understand it is a developmental process that occurs in the way we think; a process of change that helps us see things in bright new ways; it is change that even changes the way we understand God. The Bible itself is a record of this kind of change.

This notion of transformation comes from a single sentence in one of the Apostle Paul’s letters (Romans 12:2). It reads: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” There is so much packed into this one sentence.

Conformity resists change. Conformity hates change. Conformity is grounded mostly in the past where one thinks safety and security live. The world in general loves conformity. Politicians, clergy, and church leaders love conformity.

Yet Paul suggests that we instead seek transformation by the “renewing” of our minds. In other words, Paul is recommending that as Christ-followers we should be willing to move to new and higher places in the ways we understand God, faith, and the world.

You see faith is never a settled issue and one cannot settle in on one stage of faith as if that stage was the final and ultimate step in the journey. No one ever arrives. This, I believe, is the huge mistake of Fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is an expression of a settled faith that leaves no room for further growth, let alone transformation. Fundamentalism grows in on itself, never outward. Conformity is Fundamentalism’s best friend.

Now this can be scary stuff. Messing with the way one thinks about faith is dangerous business. Just ask the little old church lady. It’s risky. But it’s also adventurous. It’s also the only pathway to real growth. It’s sad that so many resist it let lone embrace it.

Don’t be afraid of having your mind changed. Allow God to transform your mind. You will see in new ways. You will be amazed what God, the world, and others really look like through the lens of a renewed mind—a mind transformed by God.

Besides, you may even find Christianity exciting and invigorating again, worth investing your life in again. That’s a plus wouldn’t you say?