There’s the old Baptist joke that does the rounds from time to time: “How many Baptists does it take to change a lightbulb?” The answer is simply, “Change?” in a shocked and startled voice. The point being that we don’t handle change very well and will often do anything to avoid it. Is that true?
The McBains have been through a big change again, we moved into the new manse last week and have been thrown back into the chaos of our life being in boxes, but not the boxes we thought as we get ourselves straight and make home in the lovely 21 Ringwood Avenue house. This is our second big move in seven months and it is disrupting and sometimes bewildering learning how to make the new house work for us.
Our church is going through big changes as we manage the transition to one 10:00 am service. On that we are confident that we will be ready to announce the date next week, but as with all changes there’s some details still to be ironed out. But don’t worry we’ll get there and it will be good and worth it.
Roberta and Gerald officially leave us this weekend- a big change for them and for the church.
We’ve had new babies over the last few weeks and Mairi and I sympathise with the new parents over the changes to their life and particularly sleep pattern – it is brutal, but absolutely worth it.
And of course, there are sad changes with bereavements or even relationship breakdowns; learning to live without a loved one is a tough change. Some changes are not sought.
But our faith is based on a belief of change. Today is Good Friday, Jesus’ death changed the world. It was a horrific, ghastly physical death but it changed things; and from that point on the world has never been the same. The relational divide between humanity and God was changed in the most beautiful way. Death was changed from something to be feared, into a passage to eternal new life with God. I’m sure we’ve all seen lives that have been totally changed by a meeting with the crucified, risen and changed Jesus. Jesus’ change from life to death to life transforms the worst things that have happened to us to eternal delight, as the joy of our new life becomes so much greater than any scar we bear.
So, I’m a big fan of change, because I wholeheartedly follow and worship a God who paradoxically ‘never changes’ yet brings about the most profound change to everyone and everything that encounters Him.