Tinkering with change …
What kind of change does God want to bring to our lives?
Imagine awaking tomorrow to a pink sky, blue velvet grass, and animals that talk. Imagine people that fly, birds that walk, and pigs that smell good.
No, those aren’t the changes God has in mind for us, but the scope is on the right track.
The kind of change God wants to bring to our lives is a “sea change.”
Not a tweaking of an attitude, or the polishing of a behavior, but a change so radical it would be as if the sea changed the flow of its currents.
The phrase “sea change” was coined by Shakespeare in his play, “The Tempest.” Ariel sang a song to comfort the grieving Ferdinand after his father had died from drowning …
“Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange …”
What would a sea change look like in a life?
The Book of Acts in the Bible records some of the life of a man whose life underwent a sea change. Here’s something of what he was like prior to real change coming to his life:
“The Lord said, ‘Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.’ ‘But Lord,’ exclaimed Ananias, ‘I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.’” Acts 9:11-14.
At first, Saul was no friend to the Church. In fact, he was one of its most vicious enemies. But God intended to change the currents in Saul’s life:
“But the Lord said, ‘Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel,'” Acts 9:15.
You likely know part or all of the rest of the story. Saul became Paul, one of the greatest evangelists and church planters the world has known. Paul would write about the sea change in his life in ways such as this …
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 1:12-14.
“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Philippians 3:7-11.
That’s more than a little change. It’s a sea change!
God doesn’t tinker with lives, He transforms them.
Are you cooperating with God in bringing about a sea change in your own life? Or are you still clutching to the old you? What would your life be like if you submitted fully to the transforming love of Jesus Christ?
Scotty
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