How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp has been considered an essential biblical counseling “textbook” for many years, and for good reason. In this book, Lane and Tripp outline the process of sanctification in language that is clear, easily understandable, and personally applicable. Early on, they paint the big picture by stating simply, that “making us holy is God’s unwavering agenda…God is not working for our comfort and ease; he is working on our growth” (p. 6). And how that growth occurs is what drives the rest of the book.
While the book is rich in many ways, the central theme Lane and Tripp use is the metaphor from Jeremiah 17:5-10, which gives us a memorable and useful picture of change. They parse the metaphor into four main areas: heat (vv. 6, 8), thorns (vv. 5-6), cross (v. 7), and fruit (v. 8). Lane and Tripp liken “Heat” to our circumstances, whether the things we are experiencing seem good or bad. “The Bible says that we are always living under the scorching Heat of trouble or the cool Rain of blessing. In either case, we are always responding to what is happening to us” (p. 102). How
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