Ebb & Flow
IN the land of the living there is a maxim that goes, “Change is the only thing constant in the Universe.” From this truth, we arrive at the next. Change is an indomitable force that blankets us, externally, like the rays of the Sun. It even finds its way into our bloodstream, internally, like oxygen. Externally, we notice the change in favorite clothes becoming too small. Or as dance with time, we notice our bodies slim or expand under its sovereignty. Perhaps, our journey though life reveals the Judas in our circle. Or we watch the Jesus in our circle lose their battle with death. It would be unchristian and pessimistic to assume that change is only bad…right? For, what is a Christian without hope? To the Christian, hope doesn’t just fuel endurance, but it encourages the soul. As we venture through external changes we experience the tangible blessings of God, like the birth of children. We experience the depth, width, height, and length of love in matrimony. Can we forget the rush of dopamine that flows through our blood when we reach our goals?
Hope doesn’t just fuel endurance, but it encourages the soul.
Internally, over time we become new people. Once, a respectable sage was offended. He was spat upon by an ignorant insolent. But, with the passing of time the insolent drank from the cup of humility and recognized the evil he had done. With tears in his eyes he went to the sage and begged for forgiveness. The sage looked at this penitent rebel and tenderly said, “Young man, I can’t forgive you.” In shock, because the rebel’s goal was to achieve forgiveness he cried out, “Why?” The sage replied, “Because, that old man doesn’t exist anymore, how can I forgive a person who has died?”
Change is not only constant, but it is dramatic. Revolutionary. Electric. Permanent. Dynamic. Unless we walk life with this truth in our minds, we will never be reminded of our humanness. We shall be blind, lame, deaf, and mute as we robotically partake upon the journey of life. And when time brings us to the door of death, we shall enter it not only naked, but deprived of an experience the Angels wish to have and Satan envied. Without the cognizance of change, we limit ourselves as we ignore the need for introspection. Change is frightening because it ushers us into an unknown, however, we only need to take one step at a time just like the little child.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
