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Love ya, never change

Teresa Klassen

Do you know people who slap each other on the shoulder and say with a grin, “Love ya, never change!”? In the church, you are more likely to hear, “Love ya, can hardly wait to see how you change!” – because the church is all about leading people to become something.

Never changing goes against even the law of nature. Look at your kids: Last fall, you bought them a pair of jeans; this fall, those same jeans are three inches too short. Growth is the norm, and when there isn’t growth, we know something is wrong.

Imagine a person sitting in a car. The gas pedal is down, and the car is wanting to do 80, but the driver is forcing the brakes on with all his might at the same time. There is lots of smoke and lots of noise, but no movement. That is what it is like when a person tries to buck God’s system of life-transformation. God has sent the Holy Spirit to change the old into something new. Why do we try so hard not to grow?

Growing is the most natural thing that should occur in a Christian’s life. That isn’t to say it is easy; it isn’t. There are lots of growing pains, but consider the alternative: Three hundred and sixty five days a year with the nagging feeling you could be more.

Put away your old ideas of what a growing Christian looks like. He is not the IBM pin-up guy: a suit and a smile and a certain kind of haircut with a briefcase full of rituals. What Christians look like are people in process; they are moving, they are changing, and the change is measurable. A Christian should be able to look back and say, “I am different than I was six months ago.” The change may be small, the change may be drastic, but it should be obvious that God is at work.

In the church, growth is the norm, not the exception, and we should love each other so much that we just can’t let each other stand still or, worse, go backwards. In the church, we should be taking the time to grip a shoulder and say, “Love ya, can hardly wait to see what God is going to do with your life as you let Him!”

Teresa Klassen and her husband Mike are senior pastor couple at Sunridge Community Church in Kelowna, B.C.

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Last modified January 30, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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