Editorial November 1, 1993 Issue

Change and reformation

William E. Moody

Can you think of anyone you know who wouldn't like to change something in his or her life? I can't. And what about our own lives? Do we need any changes, any growth, any progress? Of course. Even the happiest, healthiest, most secure, most upright people surely have areas in their experience or their character that could be improved.

Many, however, even while accepting the need to change their lives—even wanting to change—honestly wonder how it can actually be accomplished. There are a multitude of self-help books, television and radio talk shows, personal encounter groups, counseling sessions, all offering well-meaning advice. Still, people hunger for something deeper, something that really gets to the heart of the issue. They yearn for something that provides more than cosmetic changes and that radically transforms the way they feel and think about themselves and the world. They want to be new people.

One of the truly dynamic aspects of the Christian teachings that Jesus brought to mankind is the capacity of Christ, Truth, quite literally to change us. A basic Christian theme confirms that we should and can be "born again"—that our whole human experience can be consistently growing toward Christlikeness, that we can consciously be putting off the "old" man or woman and discovering what is genuinely new and pure and good about our true selves. The Apostle Paul urged the early Christians, "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2).

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