We have an age-old debate in my extended family about whether or not people can change. My Dad believes that while behavior can change, who people are in their inner being does not. This outlook feels depressive to me as I am naturally a positive and optimistic person. On the other hand, some interpret my view as “pollyanna-ish" and naïve.
Sometimes we look at spouses, friends, even ourselves and wonder if we will ever change. Will I ever be disciplined enough to eat a healthier diet? To exercise regularly? To control my temper or reign in my judgmental thoughts? Will my husband ever gush with overflowing emotion toward me? Will my children ever feel the depth of gratitude that I long for them to feel and express? Maybe….maybe not.
On the other hand, is all change good? If we are capable of change, it could be for the worse. What if my husband stopped being precise, calculated, self-controlled, and temperate? What if he became erratic, unpredictable, and unreliable? I would be thrown off balance.
How about God? Does He change? I pondered this recently when I was riding my bike around the Aurora Reservoir. It was December, and the sun was setting early, and the geese were bellowing. Attempting to take my focus off of my numbing fingers and toes, I thought about the nature of God and how He demonstrates that in his creation.
How do I know the sun is going to come up tomorrow? How do I know that winter will eventually turn into spring and then summer? Do the geese know, experience, and proclaim the same truth? How about the fish swimming underneath the ice that is beginning to cover the lake?
The answer…because He has done so before. The nature of God does NOT change.
