Do, For a Change

Zachary Sellars cannot understand why becoming a Christian has not immediately changed his behavior. He has argued disrespectfully with his mother, Eileen, and then quarrels with Erica over the train at Whit’s End. When Jack finds him afterward, Zachary admits that the arguments are his fault. He wonders whether he said the wrong words when he became a Christian, because he still loses his temper just as he did before.

Jack explains that spiritual growth takes time and cannot be accomplished by human effort alone. He plans a Bible study for the many new Christians in Odyssey and invites Zachary and Eileen. Connie also invites Eugene, who has been reading rapidly since his conversion. Eugene dismisses the beginner’s book she gave him as elementary and insists that his knowledge already places him beyond its lessons, yet he reluctantly agrees to attend a study designed for beginners.

At the school library, Zachary impatiently tries to move ahead of a teacher while Erica is working at the checkout desk. Erica makes him wait and teases him about the beginner’s Christian guide he wants to borrow. Zachary erupts and threatens to report her, but he soon apologizes. At the Bible study, Jack points out that this apology is real progress. Before becoming a Christian, Zachary probably would not have admitted he was wrong. His failures still matter, but noticing them and making amends are signs that change has begun.

When Jack asks Eugene about his own struggles, Eugene claims to have none worth mentioning. He spends his evenings studying Scripture, commentaries, and ancient scholars, then offers a long, complicated prayer over the snacks. He also announces that he is fasting to experience self-sacrifice and understand the underprivileged. Everything he says is filled with information, but his eagerness to display it leaves little room for anyone else.

Zachary’s patience is tested during a school trip to the science museum. Glenn, a boy who usually uses a wheelchair, sits beside him on the bus and fills the journey with alarming claims about blind drivers, giant snails, and the dangerous seat above the gas tank. At the museum, Glenn continues with warnings about the earth moving toward the sun, nuclear disaster, sudden volcanoes, and volcano insurance. Zachary tries to endure him, but at the model volcano he finally explodes and shoves Glenn into the display.

Ashamed, Zachary returns the Bible Jack has given him and announces that he cannot be a Christian. Jack answers his hopeless reasoning with a comparison: “What’s the use in taking a bath? I’m just gonna get dirty again.” If every believer quit after sinning, no Christians would remain. Jack tells him about grace - God’s forgiveness and the chance to begin again. Grace does not erase the consequences of Zachary’s temper, but God will help him develop self-control if he truly wants to change. Zachary takes back his Bible and decides not to give up.

Eugene watches this conversation but says he cannot relate to Zachary because his own conversion has been so smooth. Jack gently challenges his pride. Eugene has impressive knowledge of Scripture, but knowledge accomplishes little if it never reaches his heart. The change he needs is not another intellectual exercise; he must place everything he knows within a humble heart.

By the next Bible study, Zachary has been deliberately practicing patience. He chooses long lines, eats peas with a knife, and even partners with Glenn in the hobby fair. Eugene has also tried to take Jack’s advice. He abandons a prepared lecture on Nehemiah because presenting it would be showing off, then announces that he will share his heart instead. Unfortunately, his humble testimony instantly turns into quotations, technical language, and a lengthy discussion of biblical scholarship. As Eugene continues, Zachary realizes that his patience has found its real test.