Never the Same

We are entering the presidential election season.  The election is two years off, but we are quickly moving into the thick of it.  Leadership, confidence, certainty; that's what we are looking for.  What I want is the politicians to tell us about the times they changed their minds.  In political terms, this is suicide, but still, I would like to know.

I would love for them to say, "I used to think that, but now I think this.  And here's why." We live our lives, we have experiences and our lives change.  I am not the same person that I was as a young man.  Some things I take more seriously and others less.  This must also be true for politicians.  If someone says they have gone their whole life with all the notions in their head, they are either lying or very disconnected.

In many ways who we are is a product of the experiences that we have.  We have relationships, some good, some bad.  We have jobs, we take classes, go on trips, learn new skills, get sick, get better and on and on and on.  These experiences shape who we are.  Our attitudes, our opinions, our very faith is shaped in this way.

A father once told me, "Before I had kids people would say to me, 'You're life is going to change.' My response was, 'that's really the point, we want our lives to be different."

Just like the joy of becoming a parent or the exhilaration of completing a goal can change our perspective, so can suffering.  When we pass through the bad times, it gives us the perspective to appreciate the good times to not be bothered by little annoyances and to appreciate the blessings that we do have.

Watch this clip from Pastor Sparks.

Suffering changes our outlook.  It teaches us to depend on God,  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:25

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. 

When I was younger, I went rock climbing.  I had the harness and rope and all of the safety gear.  It was a lot of fun.  Then one day it happened, I fell.  I was climbing up a rock face, stretched for a hold that was beyond my grasp and down I went.  But not very far and the rope caught me.  I remember thinking, what do you know, it works.  Until it's tested we never know for sure.

That's how it is with suffering and faith.  The rope holds.