Change

I see no changes...
-Tupac Shakur

Change is inevitable. Even though many of us would like our friends, loved ones, or anyone relevant in our lives not to change that would not only be unrealistic but a disservice onto that individual as well.

Change is inevitable and should be seen as progress when it is for the betterment of the person or growth of the individual. Let there be further elaboration. Change should not necessarily be noted as a 180 degree shift within an individual. If a person has furthered progressed in their faith and become more sanctified then that person has changed because he or she is no longer at the place that they were beforehand. He or she has gone further down the road and is no longer at the point in which you may have known them. So change in this respect should not be seen as a disservice but something to be anticipated if not expected when it is for the better.

By expecting someone not to change, what one is expecting is that the individual does not progress or attempt to progress as a person yet alone make progress. If an individual has been the same exact individual for quite a period of time, then should it not be seen as a warning sign that a person is not progressing nor growing?

So the question really should not be "Did change occur" but "If there was change, was it for the better or the worse?"

But many times, people fear change. It is so much so that the only reason people hold onto their memories so tightly is because memories are the only things that won't change when everything else does. When change happens, it is seen as taking steps backward which may be the case, but we forget that change itself can be for the better. It is inevitable and God himself wants change for the better to happen.

God wants us to change as well. In Philippians 1:6 it states, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." So yes God wants us to change as well, but if it is for the better.

And the comforting thought amidst all this is that God himself does not change. For in James 1:17 it is written, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

So if you are like Tupac and you see no changes, ask yourself "Am I afraid of change?" and if I have changed is it truly making progress or have I taken steps back the other way.

Change is unavoidable. It is a part of life. Now whether one is making progress within the change is a different matter.