I’m sure that we all have, or in the future will come to a point where we will look at ourselves and say, “You know what, I need to change…” And this thing could be a factor in any part or multiple parts in our lives, whether it is physical; we see we are out of shape and we are not the that strong and healthy person we used to be. It could be mental; we see that we are negative in our thought process towards others and see the damage it could cause. Most importantly it can be our spiritual life. So we see that we need to make this change and we begin to change. However, there may be a time when much-desired character change doesn’t happen very quickly, we can tend to give up hope that we can never really change at all. But worthwhile journeys aren’t usually accomplished all at once, and we need to beware of thinking that we’ve not gone anywhere, just because our journey toward God is not complete. Good things often take time. It’s like what the popular phrase says, “The most important things in life are hard to achieve.
The apostle Peter affirmed that real, significant character change can be a reality for those who are in Jesus Christ. He does this by exhorting his readers to live reverently before God, he reminded them in 1 Peter 1:13-19, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from our aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
But as we gain confidence in the possibility of change, it is important that we also need to develop patience in the process of change. In this life, not even the most faithfully obedient Christian is able to stand up and say that they are the most upright and righteous person, they would more than likely tell you that they themselves have struggles and things that they need to make a change in. In the ongoing changing and reconstruction of our character, there is much damage that has yet to be repaired, and quick fixes will simply not solve the problem. In our hurried-up and instant gratification culture, we’ve gotten into the habit of demanding immediate results. But despite the appeal of an instant “makeover” that would require no effort, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to go for something greater, a real renewal that runs deeper than the surface? The unavoidable truth is that our hearts need an inside-out transformation. This is the goal God has in mind for us, and there is no shortcut to it. We should make sure that any impatience we have with our present imperfection does not turn into impatience with God Himself.
Oren Caskey
