None of us really like change. We get in our ruts and are happy with the way things are. We are frustrated and uncomfortable when anyone or anything bothers our comfort zone, and with the way we think things should go. We like the status quo.
We struggle with changes in our lives when we are pulled from our comfort zone and asked to do something that is different. We wonder why the change must take place; will we be patient enough to see if the change aids us or harms us or is better for us? Some of us give up to quickly and dismiss change as having failed.
When Jesus came, he changed the world. He set the example of the life that we must live in service to the Father. He turned the world’s way of thinking upside down. The world has not been the same since. As Christians, he wants us to get out of our comfort zone and live to make a difference in this sinful, needy world.
Jesus taught us to be an example — that we must think of others around us, even our enemies. Jesus was sent to save the whole world, and he can and will if men and women will be willing to change their/our thinking and follow the one who has saved us from sin. Yes, we can turn the world upside down because they did – see Acts 17:6.
Do Christians have any obligations to the world around us? YES – see Matthew 28:18-20. This command is not just for preachers, elders or deacons – nay, it is for all Christians.
The Christians of the first century gladly sacrificed themselves for the ONE who sacrificed his life for them. WHAT DO WE SACRIFICE TODAY?
Since we are called to serve Jesus, and because He is our Lord and Master, what are our obligations to Him and to the world around us? We are temporary citizens here on earth, and as God’s people, we have been called to live a life of honor and praise to God the Father, to mimic Jesus while he was here on earth, and to follow the teaching of the inspired word of God given to us by the Holy Spirit.
First, we need to live that people know we are Christians. That means that we cannot think like the world thinks, or act like the world acts, when it comes to sin and transgression of God’s law. We must set the example of Christian living and have hearts that mimic 0ur Savior. We cannot condone sin. We must be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us, and we must strive to do what we can to bring them back to the ONE who is willing to forgive, and wipe away all of our sins with his blood. Consider Peter after his betrayal of Jesus, and how he felt as he saw the resurrected Jesus later. He was forgiven. Jesus could still use one who denied him, and it was Peter who preached the first gospel sermon in Acts 2. The gospel sermon was the one who declared Jesus’ resurrection from the dead for the first time to the Jews. Three thousand obeyed the gospel that day, and the church grew by leaps and bounds because they CONTINUED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL (We remember, of course, that it was the angels that were at the tomb and told Mary and Martha that Jesus was raised from the dead).
The gospel (good news of Christ’s resurrection) is the message that we must preach and teach as well. It is because of God’s willingness to offer his Son as the perfect sacrifice, and it was because of Jesus’ willingness to die for all mankind that brought and BOUGHT our salvation from sin. The gospel can STILL change people’s lives if the hearer listens and obeys the gospel.
Consider the apostle Paul, who tried to destroy all Christians he could, yet became the gospel’s most stalwart defender. GOD HAD FORGIVEN PAUL AS WELL! And Paul’s life was forever changed.
Jesus was willing to spend time with the brokenhearted and give them hope, and Jesus exemplified that the Christian life can be lived if we are as committed to God as He was and is.
Second, we need to realize that the world has as great an influence on Christians as it does for those who are not Christians. IF CHRISTIANS ACT, THINK AND BECOME LIKE THE WORLD, DO WE REALLY HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON THOSE AROUND US?
The early church turned the world upside down. People were drawn to Christians at first because they were different – they were living for Christ daily (Acts 17:6). They loved those who hated them (following the example of Jesus).
Change can be intimidating and challenging because of the very nature of what the word means. The word “change” means to “become or make different.”
The writer of Ecclesiastes emphasized change time and again in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.”
CHANGE IS HARD – BUT GOD IS IN CONTROL!
Tommy Tidwell