Questions…

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

Can a leopard change his spots?

Can an Ethiopian change his skin?

Can we… can I… change who I am and the way I do things that I’ve followed for decades?

I know someone will quote Phil 4:13… and I agree.  Someone else will suggest Phil 2:13… and I agree.  It’s just that right now I’m in a major evaluation stage and am wondering what the answers are, or will be.

Those four questions are serious for me.  Very serious!  Then right behind them I think of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

By God’s grace… providence… mercy… and will… “I am what I am.” My personality was given to me by God’s grace, but I am responsible for how I act. The gifts and abilities I have were bestowed upon me by God’s will, but I am responsible for putting them into practice. Who I am and what I am comes from the loving hand of God, yet I am accountable for being a good steward of what I have been given. At the same time, what I do is totally within God’s predefined parameters.  (This paragraph leaves me scratching my head!)

At what point do you say… “The way I’ve been doing things (Who I am) needs to be revamped?” When do you look at your life and come to the conclusion… “It is time for a change… a substantive change… a whole life makeover?” AND if/when you come to such a conclusion, is it possible to change?  AND where do you start?

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?  Can a leopard change his spots?  Can an Ethiopian change his skin?  Those questions remain to be answered…