The Meaninglessness of Modification

Stephen Oates, in his book on Martin Luther King, Jr., Let The Trumpet Sound, quotes King:

For years... I labored with the idea of reforming the existing institutions of the South, a little change here, a little change there. Now I feel quite differently. I think you've got to have a reconstruction of the entire society, a revolution of values.

I agree with this statement. I apply this same truth to the church. It isn't enough to tweak this or that part of the church, just like it isn't enough to tweak this or that part of our society. And I apply this truth radically to my own life also. The analogy I use is that this method is like rearranging the furniture on a sinking ship. I am tired of modifications. They do nothing significant. What is required is transformation, re-creation, radical change. I must die daily. Even my most modified self must die. Only then can I live a life of resurrection. The photograph is from my friend Mark Hemmings's Hungary series.