Spot The Difference

He'll never change! He has always attracted trouble.’ Maybe we know someone who fits that description. Maybe we’ve even said it ourselves.

There are always people who want to rebel and go their own way. Too late, they sometimes find that the grass isn’t greener elsewhere and eventually face a choice: do they admit their mistakes or carry on regardless of the consequences?

It’s all too easy to shake our heads in despair and give up on people who don’t conform to what we - or society - expect of them. Instead of offering a helping hand or listening ear, we write them off as a lost cause. ‘Can a leopard change its spots?’ we say.

This unusual quotation comes from the Bible. Challenging the people of Israel to stop worshipping idols and return to the one true God, the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah delivered this stern message from God: ‘Can people change the colour of their skin, or can a leopard remove its spots? If so, then perhaps you can change and learn to do right’ (Jeremiah 13:23 Contemporary English Version). Clearly, the people were going to struggle to change. Nevertheless, the Bible is full of incidents of people, with God’s help, overcoming their past and making a new beginning.

To illustrate how change is possible, Jesus told a story about a young man who, impatient for the good life, went off to spend his share of the family inheritance even before his father had died. When the money and the good life ran out, he was forced to take a long, hard look at what he had become. He didn’t like what he saw. He decided to return home, beg forgiveness and ask for a job. His father - just like God, our heavenly Father - gladly welcomed him back into the family.

Millions of people can testify to having their lives turned around by the power of God. None of us is perfect. None of us is spotless. But a loving God is waiting to help us overcome our failings and make a new start.

UK & Ireland War Cry 28 June 2014