Change changes people

Someone was sitting at “my” table.  If you have enjoyed a coffee with me at my “office” in Starbucks, you know I always sit in the same place, same table, unless someone else beats me to it (which is unusual because I’m there pretty early).

But the unthinkable happened this morning.  Someone was in MY place.  I wasn’t sure what to do - yell at them?  Ask a barista to have them removed?  In the end, I chose to sit at one of the other 11 open tables.  I didn’t make a scene.  I didn’t give the intruders a stink-eye.  I just adapted.  I changed my habit.

Change is a wonky thing.  Sometimes change is thrust upon us and there is nothing we can do.  Sometimes change happens because we have taken the initiative.  Often, things change and we aren’t even aware of it like the proverbial frog-in-the-pot that is slowly boiled to death.  Sometimes we welcome change - like when we replace something old with something new.  Sometimes change is stressful - like when we start a new job.  Sometimes change is painful - like losing a loved one.  In all this, one thing is unchangeable:  change is inevitable.

If there is a Bible character who benefited from change, it was Peter.  He changed from being the brash, self-confident, presumptuous self-appointed adviser to Jesus to being a gentle yet still bold shepherd of Jesus’ flock.   He is speaking from experience when he encouraged a struggling group of churches, “continue being changed by the Holy Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:2).

When we consider Peter’s own journey of change, we are not surprised that he wrote statements like, “keep loving one another intensely, because love covers a multitude of sins” (remember Jesus’ conversation with Peter - “Peter, do you love me?”).  He instructs spiritual leaders not to be “domineering” over their flocks, just as Jesus had instructed the disciples (Matt. 20:24) when they were jostling for positions of “domineering” in the Kingdom of God.  

In his second letter, Peter begins by encouraging the church to grow in their truth-faith and life-faith skills: “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (2 Pet. 1:5-7 ESV).  Again, note the progression at the end of the list - from “brotherly affection” to “love” - the exact same progression Jesus used when walking with Peter on the beach and told him, “Care for my sheep.”

It couldn’t have been easy for Peter.  He had a lot of rough edges that needed to be rounded off.  The Holy Spirit’s transformational process leveraged Peter’s natural temperament so he became a faithful and effective steward of God’s Kingdom.  The fisherman became a shepherd.  The brashness became boldness to proclaim the good news, (Acts 4:13) even when it landed him in jail (Acts 12).  The self-confidence became assurance in the authority of the Messiah and the nature of His Kingdom.  Instead of presuming to advise Jesus, Peter mentored others who were learning to shepherd God’s people.

I know this is redundant, but I don’t know how else to say it:  “Change changes people.”  Peter - in his life, his character, his vocation, and his perspective - was changed.  His passion for the Kingdom of God remained constant.  After all, that was the source of his brashness in correcting Jesus and wielding the sword in the garden.  He simply wanted to see the Kingdom established.  Slowly, however, his understanding of the nature of that Kingdom and of life IN that Kingdom now changed.  The effects of that change reverberate through history to our present day.

We can never underestimate the impact of change, especially when it is the Holy Spirit transforming us.  I doubt Peter had any idea how his life story would continue to impact God’s people two thousand years later.  

If we have the same confidence in the King and His Kingdom as did Peter, we can be confident that change is happening and it is purposeful.  We can also be assured that our metrics for change are probably inadequate and inaccurate.  What God does is often unseen and frequently deferred.  But change is happening - in us and in those with whom we have relationship.  

Don’t begrudge the table-takers!  They may be doing us good and helping us to change.