Every year the arrival of summer, to me, brings sensations of anticipation, excitement and feelings of change. The new season acts as a reminder that in this life, nothing stays the same for long. We are reminded in Psalm 102:25-27 that God and His character will never change. We are told in the passage, “Long ago you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure; all of them will wear out like clothing. You will change them like a garment, and they will pass away. But you are the same, and your years will never end.”
God has never and will never change, which brings comfort in a world that seems to be in a constant state of change. But if God never changes, and the world is in a constant state of change, what does that mean for us? For me, change is all fun and games until it is me who is asked to do the changing.
Which is exactly what is asked of us as believers. We are asked to change in a very specific way and for a specific purpose, to become more like Jesus. On the path to sanctification, one thing is clear, change is inevitable. C.S. Lewis captures this concept in Mere Christianity when he states, “it may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” Essentially, C.S. Lewis is saying that an egg turning into a bird is a challenging task, however an egg staying an egg and rotting is also difficult. A rotting egg is a lazy egg that has let itself grow stagnant and gone to waste. The other option (becoming a bird) is an egg following its necessary calling, similar to the calling that God has placed on each of our lives. Just as every egg must become a bird, every Christian is called (and challenged) to become more like Jesus. To walk the path of sanctification. God does not require this of us because He is mean or never satisfied. But it is because of His great love for us that He requires more of us every day and requires us to mature in our faith. Hebrews 5:11-14 lays this out by saying, “We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.“
As we face the challenges of personal and spiritual change on the path to sanctification; may we remember the calling to “hatch or go bad”, trusting God to work out the details of the refining process as we strive to be more like Jesus daily.
–Rachel Bartholomew, Director of Finance