The idea of new can be intimidating. Whether it's a new job, a new home, a new school, a new relationship, or anything else, new means different. Different means change. Change means stress. I don't like stress, so I don't like change. I think most people are like that.
Even relatively minor ventures, like visiting a new destination, arouses some degree of unease within me. I don't know exactly where I'm going, how to get there, or what I'll find when I arrive. The farther away I travel from what I know, the more anxious I become.
The bigger the change, the higher the stress.
Going someplace new causes me some degree of angst, but I can usually take that in stride. Bigger changes, however, are another matter. Some of the biggest changes in my life involved getting married, moving to a new home, starting a new job, and having children. Each of those involved a lot of new, a lot of different, a lot of change.
If you remember, to me change means stress. Bigger changes bring more stress. My natural defense, and I believe it is a common one, is to avoid change, especially big ones. That's not always wrong, but it certainly isn't always right, either. Life would be pretty dull without change. In fact, change is inherent to the definition of life. It's not only unavoidable, it's absolutely essential.
So what do we do about it?
For me, one of the hardest parts of change is getting started. When faced with the choice of going someplace new, the first, and often hardest, choice I have to make is whether or not to go. I have to decide whether the pay off when I get there will be worth the stress of enduring the unknown. Once I make that single decision, every one that follows is minor in comparison. Choosing a route to get to Branson was nothing compared to deciding whether or not to go in the first place. Agree?
My point is, the way to deal with the stress of something new is to make a decision. Whatever it is, either you are, or you are not. You're going to go to that new place, or you're not. Take that new job, or don't. Color your hair purple, or leave it alone. Whatever choice you face, the hardest part of new is making the decision to do it or not.
The same is true with faith.
Some people are intimidated by the idea of accepting faith in Jesus Christ, or truly changing their lives and following Him, for the same reason we all fear change. It's new. It's different. We don't know exactly how to get there, or what we'll find when we do. As with all things new, the hardest part is getting started, or even knowing where to start.
It all starts with Christ.
The verse at the top of this post is from the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, but it's a good place to start. Jesus is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End of all things. That is certainly true of our Christian faith. It all starts with Him.
In the first book of the New Testament, Matthew 22:37, 38 we read these words of Jesus, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."
That's where you start.
Love God. Not just a little, but fully. Sure, there's a lot to that, but once you make the decision to do it, everything else will come. That first step is the hardest, but you'll never regret it.
As the week goes on, we'll talk more about taking those first steps with God, but right now you know how to get started.
What are you waiting for?
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