The Key to Change

. . . Is the Cross of Christ

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

2 Cor. 5:15 NLT

We all want to change. Our society yearns for change. Professional counseling services thrive because people desire change. We get tired and weary of our selfishness, our stubbornness, and our pride. We want loving in-depth meaningful relationships. But, we struggle with letting go, trusting, and serving others.

How do we change in a world where so few love, support, and encourage one another? The key to change is the heart. Outward behaviors do not change unless our inward motivation changes. If we are only and ever thinking of ourselves: our concerns, our wants, and our needs, how can we be free? We can never have meaningful relationships with others, much less with God, when our hearts are so desperately selfish.

You and I need a heart change. Not just a tune-up or a once-over, but a complete overhaul. The key to change is the Cross. Only the Cross can melt a hardened heart. Only the Cross can transform a heart of selfishness into a heart of love.  Only the Cross can change our motivation.

The key to change is continually returning to the cross. A changing life is a cross-centered life. At the cross we see our source of sanctification (Ephesians 5:25-27; Colossians 1:22; Titus 2:14). We find hope, for we see the power of sin broken and the old nature put to death. We see ourselves united to Christ and bought by his blood. We see the glorious grace of God in Jesus Christ, dying for his enemies, the righteous for the unrighteous. We see our hope, our life, our resources, our joy. At the cross we find the grace, power, and delight in God we need to overcome sin. If we don’t come to the cross again and again, we’ll feel distant from God, disconnected from his power, and indifferent to his glory — and that is a recipe for sin.

Tim Chester, You Can Change (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 127.

HT: Of First Importance