Can People Really Change?
Modern psychology has given us "disorders." Over the last one hundred years behavioral scientists have told us that all of society is sick, dysfunctional, and psychologically out of tune. I don't doubt it. The more I interact with humanity, I'm convinced that something is very wrong.
Frankly, it's been going on for a long time. Just read the popular literature of the past two centuries and you will see what I mean. Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It set off a firestorm of psychiatric debate. Edgar Allen Poe wrote about personality disorders. Hollywood has certainly presented us with a trail of movies which have delved into the dark, frightening world of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and millions of people have been scared out of their wits just watching them.
Really, I guess to be fair, this stuff goes back farther than modern history. Just look at the stories in the Bible and you'll find instances of people who succumbed to personality disorders. Our friend Samson, for example, was flipping the switch from one extreme to another, and in doing so, displayed shameful degrees of immorality. But God never designed life to be that way. Neither Jekyll or Samson's stories is how God planned it. They went from good to bad. God designed man to be regenerated, to go from bad to good.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was meant to bring men and women from death to life, from darkness to His marvelous light. Easter means "new life." I've been asking in a rather old fashioned and simplistic way, can people really change? With all our disorders and dysfunctionality, is regeneration possible? I love the way Ron Walters puts it:
* Mary Magdalene was a pitiful, demon- possessed woman. But once she met the Savior she was
set free and transformed into a follower of Christ.
* Zacchaeus was a hated, money-grubbing robber. But one dinner with the Truth transformed this
little man into a benevolent philanthropist.
* The sinful woman at the well had one quick conversation with Jesus and was transformed into a
Samaritan evangelist.
* Saul of Tarsus made a career change on the road to Damascus; from a bounty hunter tracking
down Christians, to the greatest missionary of the first century.
* Augustine was a rising star in a politically-corrupt world. But politics couldn't rid his guilt and
shame. Only the Lord could set him free. And He did.
* John Newton's miserable life included failed suicide attempts and slave trafficking on the high
seas. But once he discovered God's amazing grace, he set a new course to proclaim Christ and
abolish slavery.
* C.S. Lewis was a confused, young atheist and "angry with God for not existing!" But when he
reluctantly surrendered to the Savior, he was Surprised by Joy.
Do we have disorders? You bet! Big time. We are steeped in human behavioral mess, but unlike any message the world has ever known, the message of Christ stands alone in its power to reverse the human curse and miraculously transform sinful creatures into the sons and daughters of the Most High God.
Down in the human heart crushed by the tempter
Feelings lie buried that Grace can restore.
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.
Fanny Crosby
Can people really change? Yeah! They really can.
