You Are (Like) a Rock

Did you know there are basically three different types of rocks? Each is formed in a different way. How some rocks form can teach us lessons about ourselves.  

Rocks are a lot like people.

It’s true that there’s not a physical resemblance. It’s also true that rocks and people don’t share many of the same properties. Rocks, however, do change just as people do.

While the average person distinguishes rocks as “hard” or “harder,” geologists have come up with three different categories for rocks based on their origins: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. Igneous is the original rock that forms from cooling magma or lava, while sedimentary rocks form over time as bits of rock and other sediment cement together.

The really interesting rock is metamorphic. Formed deep within the earth’s core, metamorphic rocks are created out of preexisting types of rock when the heat and pressure beneath the earth’s surface cause the rock to actually change its properties.

From old into new

You can be like a metamorphic rock! As one type of rock can be transformed into a completely different rock, so we can be changed into a new person as we use the power of God’s Spirit to grow in the qualities of the mind of Christ. This is one of God’s purposes for our physical lives. This is why Paul tells us to put off the old man and “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” and to “put on the new man which was created according to God” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Heat enables change

Like metamorphic rocks, people often change under intense heat and pressure. Heat causes the hard rock to alter its state to the point that it changes at the chemical level. This may seem impossible, but if you add enough heat (over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit) then you can change the form of a rock.

This can teach us how we can change. People rarely change when they are firmly locked in their comfort zone. Change (for bad or good) often comes when the heat is turned up, so to speak.

Our faith is like precious gold, which is tested by fire, and changes as we grow and mature through various trials (1 Peter 1:7). There are many examples in the Bible that show people growing through trials. Consider people like Job, Joseph, Esther, Peter and Paul.

The pressure’s on

Another factor that causes rocks to change is pressure. We often have pressure coming from all sides (2 Corinthians 4:8). We face the never-ending pressure to:

• Conform to the world and its values (Romans 12:2).
• Give in to the influence of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:14; Revelation 12:9).
• Give in to our internal desires (Romans 7:23).

We all face pressure, but it’s up to us individually to decide how we’ll respond to that pressure. Unlike rocks, we can change for a purpose and can choose how the pressure affects us. The pressure to which we choose to yield will shape who we are and how we live our lives (Matthew 6:24).

Choosing our change

As stated above, there is one big difference in how we change and how rocks change. We have a say in how we change and what we change into. We will face fiery trials that cause us to break out of our comfort zones and change, but how we respond to the resulting pressure is entirely up to us.

The heat and the pressure are on! How will you change?

To learn more about the change God wants to see in your life, read about “Christian Conversion.”