Change is Hard
“I promise. I’ll change.” Such is the cry of many a guy trying not to get kicked to the curb by his wife or girl friend. But women are skeptical, and for good reason. Real life change is hard.
The lesson from the book of Acts tells of Peter being brought before the council. This would refer to the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jewish leaders and the highest authority in the Jewish nation at the time. Click here to read the passage.
Remember that these are the same apostles that were hiding in the upper room for fear of “the Jewish authorities.” This is Peter who was such a coward that he would not even admit that he knew Jesus. Now they are flaunting the authorities, and speaking boldly, challenging their authority and, essentially, promising that they would continue to violate their orders to keep silent. They would proclaim Jesus’ resurrection no matter what!
This was real life change. Something happened to these apostles that completely re-ordered their lives. This change did not come about easily or lightly. They did not just decide they would like to pretend Jesus had been raised so that they could try to keep this thing going for a little longer. These were changed men and their behavior demonstrated the depth of the change they experienced.
It is, in my view, one of the strongest reasons to have confidence in what the Scripture tells us about Jesus’ resurrection. And by faith in Jesus, we can see this kind of life change in our lives today. But there’s a catch.
This will not be life change to suit our wants and desires. This will be life change that comes when we are given over to Jesus’ desires. This change did not come over the disciples because they decided they wanted to be brave before the Sanhedrin. This change came because they were sold out for Jesus, and that meant their fear of the Sanhedrin just faded away.
Are you sold out for Jesus yet? If not, what holds you back?
This column appeared in the April 28, 2019 issue of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, click here for the current issue.
