Changing but remaining the same

At age 20 you worry about what others think of you. At age 40 you really don’t care what others think about you, and at age 60 you discover that they weren’t actually thinking about you in the first place! Some call it maturity; others call it wisdom. But reality is accepting life as it is, not as you would like it to be or what you think others think it should be.

There comes with age a perspective that you cannot have it any other way.

But is it possible for you to change yet still remain the same? A starting point is when you recognize that you don’t really know as much as you think you know. It is accepting the fact that others who view life differently may actually be right.

You change but remain the same when you become less judgmental of those who disagree with you. You change and remain the same when you learn that you can’t micro-manage everyone else, that everyone’s problem is not necessarily yours, and that you can’t change everything in the world. So you find out what it is that you are supposed to do with your life and focus on that.

You change and remain the same when you acknowledge that the family of God may actually be larger than you thought, that God may indeed see fit to take some home to heaven whose theology isn’t completely an overlay of yours but who are equally committed to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible.

Changing yet remaining the same is the ongoing work of grace in our lives as God polishes our rough spots and prepares us for eternal life. Yes, change, yet remain the same.

Used with permission from Guidelines Philippines, Inc. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, please write to Box 4000, 1280 Makati City, Philippines or e-mail address [email protected]. You may also visit our website at www.guidelines.org.