Change is in the air. If I were talking about the change from this cold and snowy Ohio
winter into the much anticipated warmth and coloration of spring, most folks would be “all in.”
We are so ready for new life to spring forth, for colors and scents of spring to be enlivened, and
for the grey doldrums of winter to be behind us. Regrettably, the only tastes of spring that we
have had thus far have been a couple of teaser days of warmth (usually followed by another
bout of cold and wintery precipitation) and a time change which has caused us all to feel a little
less rested and a little more anxious for the warmth and light of spring to show forth.
Whether you deem it to be fortunate or unfortunate, we have no control over the
change necessary to usher in spring. We also have very little control over change taking place
in the more general sense. Change happens; it is inevitable that things will change. To that
end, the only thing that we truly have any control over at all is the attitude with which we will
face, and hopefully embrace, the inevitable changes that do take place in our lives.
Mt. Carmel Friends, once again, is looking at a season of change. Pastor Michael, who
has served here since 2007, has been accepted into, and commissioned to serve, the United
States Army as a chaplain – a prayerful pursuit that has resonated in his heart and mind for a
number of years. Even as he and his family have mixed emotions with his upcoming departure,
this season of change in the life of our family of faith has us stirring with mixed emotions and
the uncertainty of change once again. We are left to wonder, what will come about of this
change?
Perhaps of greater significance than even pastoral change, or geographic change, is the
continuing need for change within our hearts. If there is one certainty in this journey of faith, it
is that God is about the work of bringing change. God at work in us will yield change: we will
have changed minds, changed hearts, changed lives and changed eternities. To reject change is
to reject God who, though unchanging, is always bringing about change in our lives. On one
hand, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), while on the
other hand, “we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51). Our spiritual journey is all about
change, which is why Paul asserted with confidence: “And I am sure of this, that he who began
a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
We are all being changed. It is a part of our sanctification. To reject change is to reject
God’s work of sanctification in our lives which affects in us the likeness of Christ. We are
challenged to change – “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life
and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to
put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”
(Ephesians 4:22-24). There is no better reason to embrace change, and no better time, than
with a view to an eternal outcome and for such a time as this: “For this light momentary
affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians
4:17).
By way of illustration, let me conclude these thoughts with the practical consideration of
new tires and oil changes. Any vehicle which you expect to last for a prolonged period of time
and to perform at reasonable expectations will need tires rotated and changed and regular oil
changes. If one fails to maintain their vehicle in such a way, the performance of the vehicle will
falter and the vehicle will eventually fail to operate without great damage or complete demise.
No one with any reasonable knowledge of a vehicle’s design and upkeep would fail to provide
these much needed changes. How much mores o should we embrace the changes affected in
our lives by God which are purposed for His glory and for our good?
In this season of change, may we be challenged to see and to embrace all that the Lord
brings about so that we might function, both individually and corporately, at the peak of our
potential and “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the
founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1, 2).