My accident changed everything for me 26 years ago, not just in regards to being disabled or blind. Growing up in the church, I thought I had a firm footing on my faith. Before college, I began drifting away from Christianity.

However, God used my accident to humble me and bring me back to Himself and that is when everything changed for me. I experienced a paradigm shift in my ways.

• Drinking
• Smoking
• Drugs
• Being promiscuous

The amazing thing is I quit cold turkey and haven’t looked back. I realized how much I needed Jesus in my life and I stopped looking to the world for pleasure.

For thousands of years, the Jewish people turned to God for earthly greatness. They expected to be in control of this world. There were times they were in bondage to other gods and nations. Then, Jesus arrived and changed everything for the world and His people (Galatians 4:4-9).

Changed?

In the church, we say, “Jesus changes everything.” Although it’s true, it is also true that most people resist change because we like our routines, comfort, and being in control. Change brings the unfamiliar.

Our Jewish stepfathers were no different, for thousands of years Judaism had specific rules for everything. They had high hopes for the promised Messiah and an earthly kingdom (Numbers 24:17,19, Psalm 2:7-9, Isaiah 42:1,4).

Then Jesus came and changed everything for the Jewish people, He challenged their traditions and customs. He told them to focus on a heavenly kingdom instead of an earthly one. Jesus caused a paradigm shift in the life of God’s people that most resisted.

Paradigms

A paradigm is a framework of commonly accepted views about a subject, and conventions about what direction research should take and how it should be performed. Paradigms are the accepted norm of how things should work. Below are a few examples.

1. Scientific processes
2. Social paradigms
3. Relational paradigms
4. Cognitive paradigms
5. Religious paradigms

Each paradigm follows a specific pattern to a specific result. Most religions have expectations and paradigms. For thousands of years, Judaism had its paradigm and beliefs.

Jesus caused a paradigm shift in their understanding and most people resisted it. We all need a paradigm shift at some point in our life. In Judaism Teshuva is the idea of “returning” to the path of righteousness and away from sin, chet.

This paradigm shift is what Christians call repentance, because of Jesus we should experience a paradigm shift that leads to a changed life.

In Christ!

When we are “In Christ” we experience a paradigm shift. All of the Disciples, who were Jewish, experienced this shift when they left everything to follow Jesus and never looked back.

The Apostle Paul experienced a stronger paradigm shift when he was changed from Saul who persecuted Christians into the Apostle Paul who was willing to die for them. When we read his letters to the church, we can see how his values and life changed because of Jesus.

• Whatever I consider gains I now consider a loss(Philippians 3:7-9)
• to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21-22)
• I no longer live, but Christ does (Galatians 2:20)

Our Lord Himself declared we cannot serve two masters, in Christ we become servants and friends of Jesus (Matthew 6:24-25). Jesus paid too high a price for us not to change.

Before my accident, I believed I was free to live my life as I wanted.  In Christ, I belong to God. We aren’t free to live however we choose and certainly not like the world God set us apart from. Because Jesus changes everything!