Someone who can change us

I guess many of us have seen a lot of memes: thoughtful statements and short videos that have been doing the rounds on social media during this pandemic. One of the most thoughtful ones is “The Great Realisation”. I wonder if you have seen it. It is a poem spoken by a young dad to his son looking back on the pandemic, and talking about the good that came from a very dark and difficult time.
Here’s an extract…

But while we were all hidden, amidst the fear and all the while, The people dusted off their instincts, they remembered how to smile.
'They started clapping to say thank you, and calling up their mums. And while the cars keys were gathering dust, they would look forward to their runs.
And with the sky less full of planes, the earth began to breathe. And the beaches brought new wildlife that scattered off into the seas”.

It’s given people a lot of hope, partly because it speaks of a better world beyond the coronavirus and also because it implies that we can learn lessons and come out stronger.

It taps into that longing that all of us have that this difficult time wouldn’t be a complete waste, but that our lives would be changed for the better by coronavirus.

So can we change? I believe the answer is no and yes. No, because human history shows that we have a very short memory, and that we find it almost impossible to change our selfish ways. But yes because… There is someone who can change us.

And that’s where the good news of the Bible kicks in. Christians are not better or more impressive people than others. We so often get it wrong. We are simply beggars who have found bread in Jesus Christ. Christianity is a message of undeserved grace. But we believe from the Bible that wonderfully once you come to Jesus he not only gives you free forgiveness, but he changes you from the inside out as well.

Being in lockdown has been likened to looking in a mirror- we get to see ourselves as we really are. The Good points, yes, but the bad points also. Our grumpiness, our short tempers, our selfishness. But rather than that being depressing, it actually be a positive, because Christians know that God the Holy Spirit is changing us to be loving, more caring, more on the lookout for other people every day. As Paul puts it “we are being transformed into his image with ever increasing Glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).

There is someone who can change us. Where do we find that change? Search for the hero inside yourself? No, that’s sinking sand. We should look outside of ourselves and come to Jesus.

David was in the navy and used to swear every other word. When he became a Christian it changed overnight. Ed grew up looking at pornography through his teenage years. Once he became a Christian God helped him slowly and surely with the help of his church and his wife to kick the habit. And me? I’m still a work in progress in lots of areas. But wonderfully there is someone who can change us. Thanks for listening.