Free Puppies!
Not really. I have no free puppies. But I thought that you’d be more likely to read this article if I didn’t title it “Resistance to Change,” or something like that.
Our past two Sundays have included multiple readings demonstrating resistance to change. Old Testament prophets experience it when they speak for God. Jesus experiences it in his hometown. John the Baptist loses his life over it. The apostle Paul gets it from a church he founded.
What’s the common thread? It is difficult for us to hear of needed changes from anyone, even from God. We would rather go on living in the way that we are, even if it costs us and the people we love.
Jesus invites us into a new way of being. He calls it the Kingdom of God. It is a reality where sins are forgiven rather than punished, where relationships are reconciled rather than abandoned, where disease is healed rather than allowed to run its course, where no one is hungry or alone.
All of that sounds good…until it includes changes on our part. God knows how hard it is, and doesn’t leave us to figure it out on our own. God remains within and among us through the Holy Spirit.
We are in the longest season of the church year, not quite halfway through Pentecost. My prayer for each and all of us is that we would be open to the Holy Spirit in the ways we can participate in God’s Kingdom. Whether it’s something we’re inclined to resist, or something as joyful as playing with a puppy.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Don Wink