Change

I can remember the rhetoric about Hong Kong.  The warnings were dire; people were getting dual passports, some moving away from their home and country, and others resisting to the last.  For the majority there was nothing they could do but worry.  In the time since the change I am sure there are those who believe their warnings have come to pass.  Yet to the casual observer the change is less about what is real and tangible and more about rhetoric, labels, and institutions.  The freedom, chaos, and excitement of yesterday Hong Kong remains.
 
Far too often I find myself sinking into a state of dread, fear, and even resistance to chance.  It is as if I know that all of the potentially bad stuff on the horizon will come true.  It is hard in the moments of decision to keep holding onto hope.  I make a decision, take a few steps, look up, and walk straight into a wall of fear. 
 
Jesus knew something was going to change.  The signs were all around him.  With all of the fear, doubts, and uncertainty, he still noted that “now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him.  The moment God is seen in him, God's glory will be on display.  In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!”  (John 13.31, 32)  I don’t think he believed then that it was going to be a walk in the park, yet he focused on the goal and the hope.
 
Change is a natural part of daily life.  Often we get hung up on the big stuff yet it is the small things which paralyze your life and mine far more often than we realize.  Imagine a day when we knew the opportunity we hand in our hands.  Consider the possibilities of what might be if we embraced, achieved, and celebrated every potential.  That day could be the one dawning right now!  Everything is within our grasp.  We are Divinity’s children – filled with hope, compassion, and love.