Lesson from a Chameleon
Lección de un Cameleón
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Many of us find comfort in keeping familiar objects from the past in our homes. [Photographer: James Timothy Peters. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
Not long after my husband and I married, we visited his Great-uncle Lester and Great-aunt Jeanette. When I entered their home, I felt I was stepping back in time to a much earlier decade. It was obvious they had been married a very long time because their furniture told the story of a long-ago era, and it appeared they hadn't bought any new furnishings since then. They clearly did not like change.
In more recent times, I have heard people say they did not like change, but when they show us earlier photos of themselves, we can see that they have changed right along with the rest of us.
I once heard a woman declare, "I'm too old to learn anything new."
As technology advances, we continually adjust to changes in our everyday lives. [Photographer: Mitch Schlater. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
In truth, she was learning new things every day. She no longer used a dial telephone. She used a remote control device to change the channel on her television set instead of having to get up and manually turn the dial on her TV. She wore a battery-operated wristwatch instead of one that she had to wind up every day. She punched buttons on her stove instead of turning dials. She pushed levers in her car in order to put the windows up or down instead of cranking them with a handle. She did not drive a car with a manual transmission but had an automatic one instead. Technology, among other things, forced her to change without her realizing it.
Children change through growth while seasons change as well. Change is an important part of growth. For those of us that were alive as adults in the twentieth century, none of us lives the way we did then. To live in our society, we have had to adapt. Without change, we stagnate.
Change is also an essential ingredient in salvation because it is part of repentance. Repentance means leaving behind our old ways of living along with our sinful habits and turning to Christ to free us from all of that. Turning to Jesus is not a one-time event but is a daily process of becoming more Christ-like.
In Hebrews 6:1a, the writer of that book advised, "Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity." (NIV) That means that becoming more like Jesus makes us more mature. The process of maturing involves change. Granted, some of that movement takes us through events we would not choose voluntarily. However, the changes in our habits force us to find new ways of doing things. As we look for those, we dust off the cobwebs in our brains and lay down new neural networks there so that we continue to grow.
Our human nature may cause us to seek stability. However, stability is not to be found in this earthly world. That is why we turn to Jesus because He is the only constant. Hebrews 13:8 assures us that: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (NIV) When all else changes, He does not. That is why we seek Him through Bible study and prayer. He is our firm foundation.
BIBLE VERSES USED IN THIS POSTING
Hebrews 6:1a — Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity. (NIV)
Hebreos 6:1a — Por lo cual, dejando ya la enseñanza primaria acerca de Cristo, vayamos adelante hacia la madurez. (Reina Valera Revisada)
Hebrews 13:8 — Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NIV)
Hebreos 13:8 — Jesucristo es el mismo, ayer, y hoy, y por los siglos. (Reina Valera Revisada)
"We chameleons change all the time to protect ourselves! Why are humans upset about making changes?" [Photographer: Carsten Goerke. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
