To Be Changed or Be Transformed

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV

As the church starts to gear up to the actual reopening of our physical church at Bramalea Fil-Can SDA Church at Torbram Rd, I can sense many mixed emotions. For sure, many will be very excited to meet up with all our church family once again, but what would be each one’s expectations?

So much has happened in between and a lot of things have changed and people have been transformed.  Notice the two things: change and transformation.

Change is described as substituting or replacing something. 

Transformation, on the other hand, is a complete change, usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness. 

Change can be short-lived and may just be an initial response to a new external circumstance and then shortly, will revert back to the original form. 

Transformation is a longer, deeper process and is very fundamental in nature.  The effects would be more permanent and the impact is far-reaching. There is an internal evolution or modification of core beliefs in profound ways to achieve the new goals and reach the desired results.

Change is when we shifted and replaced our Sabbath worship services right away to virtual through Zoom when our church closed.  TRANSFORMATION is actually and fully accepting and believing that our seat and the table where our device sits, is holy ground when we start our worship services because we are in the presence of God.  A new conviction has evolved and we have re-defined our practices and are truly convinced that we could sincerely commune and have a meaningful relationship with God anywhere He plants us and in any circumstance.

Our goals are transformed into what God desires for us – to realize He is the Ultimate Omnipresent One. We can worship Him anytime, anywhere as long as we put ourselves in His presence and allow Him to come into our hearts and our lives.

Our physical church continues to stand as a symbol of the God we worship and a constant representation of His people who congregate there, sending the message to all around that this church is His holy temple, where He dwells with us when we are there to commune with Him, a monument of His faithfulness to His children and His love for His dearly beloved ones.  Looking at and treating our church differently will nullify God’s purpose why He allows it to stand there.

How will we come back to church this time when the day finally comes when we start to reopen?  Will we come changed? Or transformed?

Elder Willie spoke about God’s Amazing Grace.  “His grace towards Ruth not only transformed her but also the circumstances around her”. What a beautiful message and what a wonderful promise.

Many of us, like Ruth, may have suffered so much in many different ways; the pandemic has definitely caused many changes around us but how about us?  Hopefully, the closure allowed us time to be changed or to be transformed. But just like Ruth, only when we allow God’s grace to work in us and with us, with the power of the Holy Spirit, will we be able to be changed and eventually be transformed. 

May our experience during this respite provide us strength and courage to leave behind the pain, remember the lessons learned, reinvent the newness of the coming “new physical church” and bring us to our journey that is even livelier, warmer, better, bigger and most of all, one that will continuously draw us closer to our Saviour, Jesus Christ, till the fulfillment of His promise comes.

Let’s look forward to our transformation, individually and as a church family!