Change

“John Killinger relates the story of the novel The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin by Russian writer P. D. Ouspensky, published in 1937. It was the story of a man who wished to amend his mistakes by living his life over again. “If only I could get back all the chances which life offered me and which I threw away,” he cried. “If only I could do things differently.”

“Ivan goes to a magician who reluctantly complies with his wishes, but warns that nothing will be different. And as Ivan Osokin watches, as in a screenplay, the repetition of his strange life — helplessly reliving the bitter failure of his school days, the sweetness of early love, the reckless experiments of his particular temperament — he observed “those chain of events when everything happened as if by clockwork, as in a machine the movement of one wheel makes another wheel move.” He did the same absurd things, down to the smallest details.

“In desperation, Ivan pleads, “What am I to do then?” The magician responds: “Remember one thing. If you go back as blind as you are now, you will do the same things over again, and a repetition of all that happened before is inevitable.” Then the magician adds this insight: “In order to change anything, you must first change yourself”” (preaching.com).

But changing ourselves is difficult, isn’t it? We all become entrenched in our own particular habits and routines. And if our particular habits and routines involve sin, then the problem is compounded. We can work at changing our circumstances and try to develop better habits. But those efforts, while important, will ultimately fail until we change our hearts. True, lasting change begins within. The heart is the source of our actions. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus told the Pharisees that “...the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matthew 12:34). Changing behavior starts with changing hearts. Are you willing to allow God to create a clean heart in you (Psalm 51:1)?

God loves you!

Mike