Monday, February 22, 2016
VIDEO
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you,
will continue his work until
it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6(NLT)
The
old expression you never change horses in the middle of a stream is a
familiar one because it expresses a great piece of advice about following
through, or perseverance. Politicians
are constantly being accused by opponents of contradicting themselves, changing
their minds, or taking the easy way out.
People even change their gender orientation these days.
I
am often asked: Why did you change from Baptist
to Methodist? I have come to
believe that the question is less-centered on me than on the internal longing of
the questioner for a new start. Change
comes about only when the pain of staying the same exceeds the fear of
changing. Asking the question of someone
who has made a difficult change is often borne out of an inner desire to
overcome the fear of moving ahead.
A
second question – which (to me) seems a natural follow-up to the first question
is: And how is that working for you? I am rarely asked that. The usual follow-up question is: And how did you do that? This confirms my belief that others,
discontented or annoyed with their present circumstances, long for change. But, deep inside, you know there’s a war
going on over fear of repercussions if they act on that longing.
My
change came about a decade ago, but I’m only now beginning to feel comfortable
in my new (Methodist) skin. Change is
hardly something that happens overnight, simply because you change the logo on
your business card.
One
of the things I realized along the way was that wanting change is
not the same as being changed.
For instance, in meeting people, and getting into the usual “what do you
do for a living” question, I sometimes found myself stumbling through an
answer.
That
all changed last Thursday!
Thursday
is Senior discount day at Harris Teeter, so we were doing our grocery
shopping. I was engrossed with staring
at the receipt, trying to figure out how we’d gone that much over our budget,
so I wasn’t thinking about anything other than making these groceries last two
years. The delightful young man who was
bagging our purchases finished, and said as I began to leave: There ya go, bud, God bless you! Without thinking or hesitating, I turned to
face him, and said: And with you also!
My
Methodist transformation is completed!
I
find myself asked a third question sometimes:
Would you do it again?
That’s another question that has a question behind it: Do you think I should change? I find myself side-stepping that question,
preferring for people to wrestle in their own mud with that one. But, when I side-step, it is into the other,
more profound and eternal question: Should
I change from thinking about Jesus and commit to following Jesus?
This
is the oft-repeated story of how millions changed throughout history: I once was lost; but now I’m found, ‘twas
blind, but now I see.
And
seeing,
having the blinders of sin removed, must change the “doing” of
our daily lives, or there has not been any genuine change.
Paul
expressed confidence that the folks at Philippi were going to experience the
transforming work, or change, that God had begun in them. Paul’s influence and work among the new
church start would not die on the vine; the change of hearts that had once been
pagan and lost, without God, were being molded, formed into the image of Christ
for the glory of God the Father.
For You Today
So, let me ask the question
about your change from thinking about Jesus to committing and following Jesus…How’s
that working for you?
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