Do you welcome change?

DO you welcome change or resist it? Do you accept what's right for today or fret about what's different from yesterday? Do you sometimes want change just for the sake of change, just to get away from something or somebody you don't find to your liking? It's good to ask ourselves these questions and to seek more light on the subject. It's helpful if we first recognize the existence of basic spiritual truths that never change, and distinguish between these truths and transitory human conceptions that have to go on changing if there is to be progress.

What are some of these unalterable truths? A fundamental one is that God's nature never changes because He is infinite Spirit, and therefore the actual nature of man as God's spiritual likeness, cared for and wisely governed, never changes.

One shift it would be wise to welcome, then, is from a material sense of ourselves and our environment to a spiritual sense. This uplifts our concept and brings us more into harmony with God's intelligent purpose and constant care. We see more clearly that although the job we do may change, or we may do it differently, our service to God goes on expanding, and this is the essence of our work. We realize that although the place where we live may change, we can never find ourselves outside God's presence. The people we're close to may not be the same as time passes, but the relationship between God and each one of His children provides continuity and consistency.

Our actual selfhood isn't an expendable mortal, buffeted by change. We are, and always will be, God's beloved offspring. And this isn't an abstract or impractical view. As we perceive it to be reality, we can better demonstrate this reality in an orderly development of events in our lives and in progress. The infinite possibilities of spiritual existence begin to dawn on our thought as we start to experience more of their variety.

The Apostle Paul said: ``We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.'' 1

Paul experienced a radical change of thought when he came to recognize Christ Jesus as the promised Messiah instead of an impostor whose followers deserved to be persecuted.

This change wasn't at first easy for Paul, but afterward he saw it as the turning point of his life. History would have been very different if he had resisted this change for himself and for all the people whom he later taught to share it with him. And the same Christ-power, the same divine influence, can come to each one of us now with its transforming, healing effect. We may not change as suddenly as Paul did, but our progress, though more gradual, can be just as sure.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: ``Emerge gently from matter into Spirit. Think not to thwart the spiritual ultimate of all things, but come naturally into Spirit through better health and morals and as the result of spiritual growth.'' 2

This gentle emergence comes through a more spiritual sense of thinking, feeling, and living, so that we understand God better and reflect Him more fully. This in turn makes us wiser, stronger, healthier, more perceptive, more vital. It doesn't threaten our happiness and security. It makes them more stable and enduring.

To resist all change deprives us of the progress and satisfaction that come from a more flexible thought. To want change for the sake of change prevents us from giving all our attention to approaching the task at hand from a more spiritual standpoint, and it may even postpone the very change of thought we need. But to welcome unreservedly a basic spiritualization of thought as the change that is always for the better, prepares us for the new good that lies ahead. 1 II Corinthians 3:18. 2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 485. -- 30 -- {et

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to Do you welcome change?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0603/mrb631.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe