I gained some weight last year. A “buy new pants” amount of weight. When I went for my checkup in December, my doctor made a very frowny face, and I decided (like many people) that I would lose some of that weight. But Christmas was coming up, so I promised to start right after Christmas. Then there were leftovers and a few Christmas goodies that showed up late, so I decided I would definitely start on January 1. After the first month of the new year, I’ve made no progress.
What happened? For me, part of the problem is that I know that even if I do everything right, I’ll get on the scale tomorrow morning, and I won’t see a big difference. I have a bunch of bad habits that I need to change before I can really lose any weight. On top of that, I’ve had bad experiences in the past where I lost weight, only to gain it back. That’s demotivating. You know what? I don’t want to think about it right now. Maybe I’ll try again next week.
Perhaps that’s your experience with faith. And yet Jesus says “Stop! Turn around! God’s Kingdom is right here!” Jesus said that God’s Kingdom was all about a new and different sort of life. A life where you’re loved even when you feel nobody could love you and you don’t love yourself. It’s a life where you’re connected to the source of life, even if you feel tired and worn out. It’s a life where there’s light even when everything seems dark — where there’s hope when life looks hopeless. It’s a life where your parent is always there for you, preparing things for you, looking out for you.
Jesus didn’t say that the changes would all be instant. He didn’t promise that we wouldn’t have setbacks. He never suggested that we need to get it all together before we turn around and choose His eternal kind of life. He did promise that He’d be with you every step of the way. He encouraged us to travel this road together, loving one another and building each other up along the way.
I’m still working on getting back into my old pair of jeans. It’ll take time. I’ll have failures along the way. Unlike my scale, Jesus is forgiving. There’s no checklist of things you must do before you can turn around and begin to experience the transformed kind of life that Jesus talked about. Plus, you’d be surprised at how many people also have a thing they thought they would never get past — and today they are part of Jesus’ family, the church. They’d love to welcome you to a local faith community.