Changes

Sometimes we want to change something in our lives.

We want to have more peace. To be better. To stop suffering. To stop fighting. To stop feeling afraid.

Or simply to understand why there is sometimes so much confusion inside us.

We are talking about changes before God.

God does not change. He is already perfect.

But we are invited to change, to grow, to learn and to live the new by walking toward God.

Before looking for a path, we need to know:

Where do we want to go?

Imagine someone getting on a bus without knowing where they want to end up. Any bus will do.

And maybe we often do this in life.

We try to solve problems, change behaviors or control situations without first asking:

Where do I want to get to?

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Where do I want to get to?

When we ask this, many people answer quickly:

“I want to go to heaven.”

This does not have to be seen as a mistake. It is simply a sincere answer.

But maybe there is an even deeper question.

When Jesus spoke, he spoke a lot about the Kingdom of God, about the Father's will, about life, about being born again, about the Holy Spirit and about remaining.

And when he taught his friends to pray, he did not say:

“Take us to heaven.”

But:

“Your Kingdom come;
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.”

This is very beautiful.

Because maybe God does not just want to take us somewhere in the future.

Maybe he wants to do something inside us right now.

Maybe the goal is not just a place.

But a Life. A friendship with God. A life guided by the Holy Spirit.

The whole Bible seems to speak about this.

The Old Testament prepares and points to Christ revealed in Jesus.

And the New Testament goes on showing what this life means for us.

Not only who Jesus is. But what God wants to form in us.

Maybe that is why the goal is not just religion, nor just behavior, nor simply looking good on the outside.

Maybe the goal is something much more beautiful:

Christ in us.

Because God is Father. He is good. And his will is good too.

The Bible also says:

“We are God's co-workers.”

This is beautiful.

Because God does not want to do everything without us.

But he also does not want us to walk alone.

He knows all things.

And little by little we learn to cooperate with what He wants to do in us.

One day they asked Jesus:

“What must we do to do the works God requires?”

And his answer was very simple:

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he sent.”

This changes a lot.

Because the work of God does not begin in our effort.

It begins in trust, in faith, in relationship.

Jesus came doing the Father's will.

And God made him Lord and Christ.

And after him the Holy Spirit was sent to remain with us and help us.

This means that God does not just show a path.

He also helps us walk it.

It is the Spirit who strengthens, teaches, helps us see what we do not notice on our own and produces love, peace, kindness and other beautiful things inside us.

And maybe that is why the apostle Paul summed it all up in such a simple and profound sentence:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Maybe the true goal is not only to ask:

“Where am I going?”

But also:

“What does God want to form in me?”

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Where am I today?

Before finding a path, there is a simple question:

Where am I today?

Sometimes we do not like this question very much.

Because looking inside can be frightening.

But discovering where we are is not meant to make us sad.

It is meant to help us find the way.

Imagine someone lost on a road.

The first thing they need to find out is not which car to buy or which road to choose.

They need to know:

Where am I?

Maybe the same happens in life.

Sometimes we are tired, afraid, angry, confused or wanting to control everything.

Sometimes it seems there is a mess going on inside us.

And this is more common than we imagine.

There are also things that can get in our way without us noticing.

Fears, hurts, pride, anxiety. The desire to control everything.
And even ideas we learned and never stopped to examine.

Many times we think we see everything clearly.

But it is not always so.

Sometimes we see life through lenses we received from other people.

From family, school, society or even religion.

And this is no reason for guilt.

It is just part of our human story.

The Bible tells something interesting.

The people of Israel left Egypt, but Egypt took a long time to leave them.

This is profound.

Because sometimes we leave a place… but the place keeps living inside us.

Maybe that is why changing is so hard.

Not because we cannot.

But because the familiar seems safe, even when it does us no good.

And there is another curious thing.

Many times we spend so much energy looking at the problems that we forget the path.

Fear grows. Worry increases. And hope shrinks.

Maybe that is why looking honestly at where we are is so important.

Not to accuse, but to understand.

Because God does not show us our wounds to humiliate us.

Maybe he shows them to begin caring for them.

And this changes everything.

Because discovering where I am is not the end of the story.

Maybe it is exactly the beginning of it.

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How do I get there?

When we discover where we are and begin to see where we want to get to, a natural question appears:

How do I get there?

Many people think the answer is:

“I need to try harder.”

Or:

“I need to be stronger.”

Or even:

“I need to manage on my own.”

But maybe there is very good news.

God never wanted us to walk alone.

Jesus told his friends that the Holy Spirit would come to remain with them.

This is very beautiful.

Because it means that God does not just show a path.

He also walks with us.

It is the Spirit who helps, comforts, strengthens, teaches, reminds us of the words of Jesus and helps us see what we often do not notice on our own.

Sometimes we think the spiritual life is like climbing a very tall ladder, alone, trying to get everything right.

But maybe it is more like learning to ride a bicycle.

At first there is fear, imbalance, trying.

But someone is beside us helping. And little by little we learn.

Jesus taught something very simple:

“Your will be done.”

This does not mean giving up on life, or ceasing to think.

Maybe it means learning to trust.

Because trusting is not standing still.

It is walking knowing that we are not alone.

The apostle Paul wrote something very special:

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do…”

This brings rest.

Because not everything begins in our strength.

There is help.
There is care.
There is direction.

And maybe here is one of the hardest, and most beautiful, things to learn.

Sometimes the greatest effort is not doing more.

It is to stop trying to control everything.

Sometimes we want to organize everything, predict everything and guarantee everything.

But there is a different peace when we learn to cooperate instead of control.

God does not look for perfect people.

Maybe he looks for willing hearts.

People who accept learning.

Who ask.
Who listen.
Who let the Spirit work.

And maybe that is how the path happens. One step at a time.

Not by force, not by fear, but by the company of God.

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What did Jesus do?

One day my little granddaughter asked me:

“Grandpa… what did Jesus do?”

I found this question lovely.

Because adults often talk about Jesus, but cannot always answer this in a simple way.

Jesus came to show us the way.

He loved, forgave, helped, spoke the truth.
And he did the Father's will.

Jesus did not live just to be admired.

He lived to reveal what a life guided by the Holy Spirit looks like.

Children really like superheroes.

And maybe we can think this way for a moment.

There are heroes who fly.
Others who have strength.
Others who seem never to feel fear.

But Jesus was different.

He was greater than any hero we can imagine.

Even so, he did not come to impress people with power.

He made himself like us.

He walked among ordinary people.

He felt hunger, tiredness, sadness. And he trusted the Father.

This is very beautiful.

Because he did not come just to be admired from afar.

Nor to look like a hero impossible to reach.

He came to reveal what God can do through a human being guided by the Holy Spirit.

Maybe that is why Jesus is so different from the heroes we imagine.

Many heroes win by strength.

Jesus won by love, forgiveness, truth and trust in God.

And maybe today the true heroes are not only those who seem strong on the outside.

Maybe they are the ordinary people who learn to love, trust, serve and let God guide them.

Maybe that is why Jesus did not come just to say:

“Look at me.”

But also:

“Follow the way.”

And maybe here there is another important question.

What does Christ in us mean?

This does not mean we stop being ourselves.

Nor that we become perfect people.

Christ in us is maybe something simpler and more beautiful.

The life and Spirit of God forming in us the same way of living that we saw in Jesus.

Little by little.

Like a seed growing.

The Holy Spirit does not come to erase who we are.

Maybe he comes to teach us to live in a new way.

With more love, more truth, more peace, more trust.
More communion with God and with others.

Maybe that is why Paul speaks of new creation, a renewed mind and Christ being formed.

Until he sums it all up in an extraordinarily simple sentence:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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The path

Maybe life is like a journey.

Before leaving, we need to know where we want to go.

Then, we need to look honestly at where we are.

And then we discover the path.

Many people think God just wants to take us somewhere in the future.

But maybe there is something even more beautiful.

Maybe God wants to walk with us right now.

To teach us, to strengthen us, to help us grow.

The Holy Spirit does not come to frighten us.

Nor to accuse us.

He comes to help, comfort, remind us of the words of Jesus and form something new inside us.

That is why the apostle Paul wrote:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

This is very profound.

Because maybe hope is not just getting somewhere.

Maybe hope is discovering that God is working inside us.

Changing our thoughts.
Teaching us to love.
Helping us to trust.

And little by little forming Christ in us.

Maybe now we can answer that child's question:

“What did Jesus do?”

Jesus came to show us the way. And he keeps showing it.

Not just to be admired from afar.

But to reveal what God can do in ordinary people who let themselves be guided by his Spirit.

Maybe that is why the true heroes are not those who seem invincible.

Maybe they are those who learn to love.

To trust, to forgive and to walk with God.

Because maybe glory was never just a distant glow in the sky.

Maybe it is Christ living and appearing, little by little, in ordinary human beings.

And maybe that is the path.

Not walking alone.

But learning to walk with God.

One step at a time.