Do You Welcome Change?

One of my favorite passages of scripture is 1 John 3:1-3 which says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”

There are several reasons why this passage stands out to me, but I’ll share just one for now. John writes, “But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

When Christ appears, we shall be like Him. This tells me that “change” is required. In order for me, to be like Him, change is a must. When you think about it, any person or people group that God has ever called, went through this process of change. We could also call it “the disciple of the Lord” or the “sanctification” process of God.

No one, called of God, will escape this process of change. We should no be discouraged with it, but welcome it, and endure it. Hebrews 12: 10-11 says, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

God, at some point in your Christian walk, will take you through circumstances and seasons in life that may not be pleasant. This is always for your benefit. God is the author and finisher of your faith. He wrote the beginning and end, and everything in between.

When we yield to the change that comes by the working of the Holy Spirit, blessings will follow.