Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant.
-Anthony J. D'Angelo

Change is a part of life. Others may even say that change is the only thing that doesn't change in the world. We know and accept that change is always present in life.

What about changes in your own life? A lot of changes happen when you reach puberty. Your body changes. Your feelings towards different stuff changes. You know, plus the "search for identity" stage which makes it more complicated and sometimes you would wish you were just a kid. The point is, change is there. You may want to think of a particular event in your life. Perhaps when you entered college? or when you transferred school/house? What were the changes or adjustments you had to make? I'm sure you would have answers to those questions. Again, the point is that change is present in life.

Many of us want God to give us assignments that He wants us to do, but many of us are not willing to adjust. Often, we just want to go on with our present lives. This may be because we are used to our daily routine. Sometimes we are not willing to leave our comfort zones because we are so happy with what is happening in our lives. Success sometimes hinder us from responding to God's call that requires us to adjust our lives.

As we look at different characters in the Bible that God called, we will see that every time God spoke to them about something God wants them to do, it requires them to make major adjustments in their lives. As a result of their willingness to adjust their lives to God, God worked mightily through them.
-Abram had to leave Haran and be a father of a nation in Canaan. (Genesis 12:1-8)
-Moses had to stop staying in the desert and watching sheep in order to stand before pharoah. (Exodus 3)
-David had to leave his sheep to become king. (1 Samuel 16:1-13)
-Jonah had to leave his home and overcome a major prejudice to preach in Niniveh. (Jonah 1:1-2, 3:1-2, 4:1-11)
-Peter, Andrew, James, and John had to leave their fishing business to follow Jesus. (Matthew 4:18-22)
-Matthew had to leave his tax collector's booth to follow Jesus. (Matthew 9:9)
-Saul (later Paul) had to completely change direction in his life in order to be used by God to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. One major change was from being a persecutor of Christians to being persecuted as a Christian. (Acts 9:20-25, 14:1-7, 19-20)

Maybe some of us would still be in a state of denial and think that God would never ask us to make major adjustments. We may think that God is so good that he will not ask us to make super major adjustments that would probably make our lives harder, but as we can see in the Bible, God did require His people to adjust in big ways. He even required His own Son, Jesus, to make major adjustments when He came to this world to die on the cross for our sins.

If we want to become followers of Jesus Christ, disciples of Jesus Christ, we will have to follow his example and be ready to make adjustments in our lives so that He can use us for His ministry. One of the principles of discipleship (taken from the For Jesus Discipleship Program) is that discipleship entails sacrifice and commitment to Jesus.

Luke 14:26-27
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters −yes, even his own wife− he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

Following Jesus Christ entails sacrifice and commitment. We must be ready to make sacrifices. We must be ready to make adjustments. We can't just obey without performing the required adjustment to be made. His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:9) The only way we can follow Him is when we adjust our lives to His ways.

You may look at these two accounts:
1. The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23)
-did not experience eternal life beacause he refused to give up his wealth (refused to make adjustments).
2. Elisha (1 Kings 19:15-21)
-performed great miracles (God worked through him) because he was willing to make the required adjustments.

There are different kinds of adjustments we may have to make. They may be different with each person, but then again, are we willing to make these adjustments?

Reflect:
1. What adjustments is God asking you to make?
2. Are you willing to adjust your life so that you can follow Christ?
3. Will you face the hardships and opposition that will come when you align your life with God's will?

[Ateneo Frontline Thursday Session, based on a lesson from Experiencing God]