WE ARE OFTEN-TIMES caught off-guard by the vagaries of the human condition. From people with whom we once had a stable relationship to nations that suddenly, perhaps drastically, change governance, we experience the confusion that comes with the disruption of whatever we once thought was normal. Such events are potentially myriad in the complexities that thrust themselves into demands of our attention. A political party with an agenda foreign to our core values somehow gains power and enacts laws that are antithetical to our beliefs and practices. On a narrower scale, a once-intimate friendship becomes stagnant, or descends into animosity. Any and all of these circumstances call us to examine our beliefs, and ultimately call us to defend them. Maintaining our mental, emotional, and spiritual equilibrium in the face of such provocations is at the very least uncomfortable. It may also be dangerously life-altering, even life-threatening.
There is no greater disrupter of our lives than a change in our own beliefs, which inexorably leads to a change in our life-patterns and practices. This is uncomfortable for us – we don’t typically like change, especially at a level that re-defines our identity. It is also challenging to the people around us. If we change at a level of core values, it will by necessity demand a response from the people with whom we have a relationship that has previously been held in a habitual dynamic tension.
In terms of changing our beliefs/identity/values, the greatest disruption possible occurs when we begin our journey of spiritual transformation through personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There are many religions in the world, with very strong precepts that govern a relationship with a deity. But there is only one Jesus Christ, who speaks a narrow and powerful message of exclusivity: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus’ teaching to his disciples, consistent throughout the gospels and across progressive generations into our own, has been unflinching in regards to the price we must pay for our relationship with him. He warns, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19) This is a sobering admonition, and bears the necessity for us to be prepared for the results of how we respond to those who question our choices: “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.” (Luke 12:51-52) To this he adds a startling sense of the demands he places on our dedication to him: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)
In order to clarify for us the importance of the kinds of adjustments we will have to make in our beliefs, he explains in stark detail the imperatives that define the very core of what is at stake in our informed decision. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” ( Mark 8:34-37) This is not an all-or-nothing decision; the consequences are far greater than loss, no matter how great that loss. It is an either-or decision, in which there is reward and risk no matter what. That which is gained, the promise of heaven, is acquired against not simply losing that gain, but the outcome of loss which is eternal life separated from God, defined as hell.
The disruption to any former level of uninformed self-deceived comfort is shattered in the light of Jesus’ revelation. The change before us is unavoidable, and there will be outcomes and repercussions not merely in the way we believe and conduct ourselves; there will be challenges in our relationships with others at every level. To encourage us through these changes, our relationship with Jesus becomes paramount. And knowing this about our spiritual journey and life transformation, Jesus heartens us, saying “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Q. Have I truly overcome the world through my faith in Jesus?
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