The Same, but Different

This week I heard a brain teaser on the radio: If you start with a clock’s hands pointing straight up at 12 o’clock, how many times will the minute and hour hands overlap by the time the hour hand makes it back up to 12? I’ll let you work out the solution on your own, but it’s not as obvious as you might think.

Since we use a 12-hour clock, we’ve gotten used to the idea that the clock shows the same time twice per day. As we all know, the clock may say 5 o’clock, but 5 o’clock a.m. is very different from 5 o’clock p.m.! Our day at 5 o’clock p.m. often looks very different from 5 o’clock a.m., not least because of all that has transpired in between.

This feeling of same-but-different is similar to the significance of the resurrection of Jesus. After Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to his disciples as the same person, but also very different from before. We anticipate the resurrection when we allow God to be at work in our lives. On the one hand, we are the same person that we always were, but on the other hand, God is capable of transforming us into a new creation.

If you could create a new version of yourself, what would be different? What would remain the same?

Blessings,
Pastor Paul Cook