Does God Ever Change His Mind?

I don’t think this is the right question.  How about, is God flexible?  Now that’s better. Recently we read in Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are my ways your ways says the Lord.”  God is suggesting that he doesn’t want to be boxed in or appear unyielding.  He wants to be a God who listens to his creation before arriving at a decision.  

Another example is the woman caught in adultery, who is brought to Jesus for judgment. Jesus knew she was caught in the act of breaking Mosaic law.  Before speaking, Jesus reflected quietly on her situation.  Finally scattering the crowd of accusers, Jesus asked her: “Has no one condemned you?”  She shamefully replies, “No one Lord.”  Jesus, whose thoughts are not our thoughts, then decides, “Neither do I.” He then adds: “Go and sin no more.”  And she left forgiven.  Jesus chose to give her a second chance.

Later on Calvary while Jesus suffers on his cross heckled by the crowd, a thief called Dismas crucified next to him, beseeches Jesus, “Lord remember me when you come into to your kingdom.”  To which Jesus, whose ways are not our ways, responded, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  Again, Jesus heard his plea and chooses to forgive him, which lands Dismas immediately in heaven. 

Following in his father’s footsteps of granting abundant mercy, Jesus easily gives needed forgiveness.  Like his Father, Jesus also hopes that the offenders, after their mistakes, grasp the lesson and use the chance to improve their lives.  Following God’s wish to forgive rather than punish, everyone has another chance to gain paradise. 

Years ago when Nelson Mandela was in prison, he faced the daily monotonous work of crushing rocks into small stones. This was a task Mandela knew he would face for the next twenty-five years.  Nelson Mandela choose to crush those rocks rather than have the rocks crush his spirit.

Later when he was liberated and elected the President of South Africa, he presented a new person to the people of South Africa.

Since everyone, no matter their color, religion, or status, whether friend or enemy, is connected to everyone else Mandela asked: “Are we going to enable the community around us to improve?”  Equating forgiveness with improvement, Nelson Mandela saw mercy as a way to move away from the past and give everyone a chance to create a new beginning.

The new President saw moving forward as improvement and looking backward as standing still.  He visualized South Africans gazing at each other with the eyes of forgiveness as the way of seeing one another with a cleansed vision.  This is precisely what Jesus wanted mercy and forgiveness to do for creation when he spoke the greatest commandment: “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.”

This is still God’s great hope for all creation.  He made us in his image and likeness to do this together.  Only when everyone contributes their talents and gifts can we turn creation into God’s kingdom.  Building walls will never do it, only building bridges will.  Nelson Mandela and Jesus Christ, are both bridge builders possessing the same goal: “That all may be one.” 

Forgiveness breaks down walls and invites everyone to see that it is far better to perceive a common cause than to allow differences to become barriers.  From the day God proclaimed creation good, God was for inclusion and never exclusion, diversity, but never a tasteless uniformity.

Leveling everyone to the same equality through his death and resurrection, Jesus wrote the same last chapter for everyone, the gift of salvation.  We just have to live and respect everyone as Jesus does. This is how Jesus will measure the chapters we write on this earth. 

He will ask how did we love others? God’s ways are not our ways for sure.  Yet we can imitate God’s ways with grace and the Holy Spirit’s promptings. 

G.K. Chesterton was once asked this question: “What if Jesus is living in our world today?  What do you think he would be doing?”  He answered with great zest, “Jesus is living in our world today!  And he is living and loving through us.”

God knows this, Nelson Mandela knows, Jesus knows, and GK Chesterton knows.  Jesus is living in our world today and he is living through us. 

 Let us leave then by asking ourselves how we would answer a question similar to the one asked of GK Chesterton: “If Jesus lives in our world today in you, how would we recognize him?