Thomas Abbott

Do you wish you could change some things about yourself? Negative addictions? Selfish behaviour that hurts those closest to you? Complete inability to manage money properly? Add your own needs here ____________.

Pastor Jon commented on Sunday, as we were about to take communion, that a common mistake we all make in approaching our relationship with God is that we assume the need to change ourselves BEFORE we try to draw closer to Him.

There is a subtle but profound flaw in this approach: it’s the wrong way round.

Self-change (or self-help), from a Christian point-of-view is fundamentally flawed - and should never be our goal. The message of the Bible does not climax with a perfect list of 10 ‘golden rules’ that, if perfectly (or nearly perfectly) kept, grants us access through the pearly gates. No, the Bible’s climax is in Jesus’ life, and what he has done for us. His death and resurrection was a once-and-for-all payment for the inevitable, destructive and unjust burdens of sin (i.e. the shit in our lives and the world around us).

It’s a bit of a mystery, and quite hard to believe. But at least the concluding message is relatively clear: Jesus has done all the hard work. The resulting instruction that follows is therefore simple (but not necessarily easy):

First draw close to God, and then the change will happen.