HOPE;
CHANGE

The Christian church cannot effectively be Christ’s church if it fails to firmly believe and boldly proclaim to every person: “You can be changed! You do not have to remain as you are!” This is a hope held out not just to the desperate drug addict and the helpless drunkard; it is valid for every person the world over.…

Clay is not fixed. It is malleable; it can be shaped. After clay has been shaped by the potter, who gives it the form he wants it to have, he puts it aside to dry. Then he bakes it under intense heat, sometimes also adding a glaze, which is also baked on.

That piece of clay, once so malleable, is now permanently fixed. It is no longer subject to any changes.

Once clay has been baked and glazed, the only way it can be changed is by destruction. The object can be shattered and ruined, but it can never be changed into something more beautiful or useful because it can never regain its malleable state.

For the apostle through the Holy Spirit to say, “Do not conform,” is indication that the baking-glazing of our natures has not yet occurred. Thankfully, we are in a state of malleability regarding moral character.

There are two things that can be said to any person, whether an innocent youngster or a professional criminal on death row awaiting his fate for kidnapping and murder. The first is, “You can be changed!” The second, which is related, is this: “You are not finished yet!”

Romans 12:1–2; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:14–16

Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, 124, 125, 126.