“BEFORE YOU CALL THE PASTOR REMEMBER THIS”

II CORINTHIANS 5:16-21

16  From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.

17  So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

18  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;

19  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.

20  So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

21  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

It happened on February 6, 1976. That was the day that my dad stopped smoking.  He threw his cigarettes in to the waste basket kicked the habit for good.  February 6, 1976 is a significant day in my family for another reason.  That’s the day my dad’s mother died from cancer after smoking her entire life.

My grandmother’s death led my father to make a decision that changed his life forever. 

How about you?  Are there any about yourself that you’d like to change?  Maybe the answer to that question is no.  Maybe you’re completely satisfied with the way things are right now.  Then again, maybe you feel the same way a man felt after talking to a marriage counselor one day.  After listening to the man for a while the counselor suggested that the man needed to make some changes if he wanted to save his marriage.  The man agreed and that’s exactly what he did.  He went home and made some changes.  The next week the man told the counselor what he did.  “I got to thinking about it,” the man said, “and I realized that I did the same thing every day.  Every morning I’d get up and go to work.  Then after working hard all day, I’d go home all sweaty and dirty.  I’d come in through the back door so I could immediately go to the refrigerator and get something to drink. Then I’d go into the family room and watch television until supper was ready.  So, one day I decided to change things up a little.  After work I cleaned myself up. I put on a clean shirt and some cologne.  Then on my way home I stopped and bought my wife some flowers.  Then instead of going in the back door I went to the front door and rang the doorbell.  As soon as my wife opened the door she started to cry.  When I asked her what was wrong she kept on crying and said, ‘This has been an absolutely horrible day.  First of all Billy broke his leg and I had to take him to the hospital.  Then when I got home your mother called and told me that she’s coming to stay with us for three weeks.  Then when I went to do the laundry the washing machine broke and now there’s water all over the basement.  And, if all of that isn’t bad enough now I open the door and discover that you’ve come home drunk.”

Change isn’t always easy, but it is possible. Change is even more possible when you take Jesus Christ seriously. The Apostle Paul knew that.  That’s obvious when you look at the words that he wrote in his letter to the Corinthians.  In that letter Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come.”  (RSV)

Paul knew that those words are true because of what he experienced in his own life.

Don’t forget that Paul wasn’t always a good card carrying Christian.  Early on in his life Paul actually went out of his way to persecute Christians.  Then one day all that changed. It happened while he was on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians in that city.   Before he got to Damascus though he had an close encounter of the sacred kind.  Paul was walking along the road when he saw a blinding flash of light and then heard a voice from the heavens say to him, “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?”  That voice was from the risen Christ and it changed  his life forever.  Paul went from persecuting those who wanted to follow Jesus to starting churches for those who wanted to follow Jesus.

All of this is why Paul knew that change is possible when you follow Jesus.  “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come.”

Of course, that assumes that you want to change. Deep down some people don’t want to change.  They’re like the guy who went deep sea fishing one day with a friend.  Unfortunately while they were out there the boat experienced a complete electrical failure.  Before they knew it they found themselves stranded with no way to radio for help.  Finally, after drifting around the ocean for a couple of days the man started to pray.  “O Lord,” he said, “I know I’ve broken just about every one of Your commandments.  I drink too much.  I swear too much.  I treat people like dirt and I know I’m not the most honest guy around. If you save my life though I promise that I’ll change.  I’ll never break another one of your commandments. I won’t swear.  I won’t drink…”  At that point the man’s friend interrupted him.  “Wait a minute.  Wait a minute,” he said.  “Don’t get carried away there.  I think I see another ship.”

Deep down some people don’t want to change.  That’s not true for everyone though. Deep down some people want to change but they don’t think they can.  It’s the infamous “I can’t attitude.”  “No, I can’t loose weight. I’ve tried but I just can’t…No, I can’t relax.  I’m a worrier. That’s just the way I am…No, I could never start my own business. I don’t have the confidence that I need to succeed”

You know, that’s the reason why a lot of people fail when they try to change. The fail because they think the key to change is just mustering up a little more will power. You say to yourself,

“I’m going to work really hard so I can be more patient and not loose my temper.” 

“I’m going to work really hard so I can stop drinking so much.”

“I’m going to work really hard and not be so pessimistic or materialistic or selfish.”

The key to change though isn’t more will power.  The key to change is more love.  That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote those words to the Corinthians.  He talks about the love of God that was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.  As far as Paul was concerned that love is what makes it possible to change.  That love is what changed him.  That love is the reason he said that “…if anyone is in Christ he’s a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come.”

Have you seen the movie “Take The Lead?”  The movie is only about a year old. It’s a true story that’s based on the life of a ballroom dance instructor by the name of Pierre Dulane.  Now Pierre Dulane did something that no one thought could be done.  He went into a New York City high school in a less than desirable neighborhood and taught  a bunch of troubled students how to do ballroom dancing.  He didn’t do that simply because he wanted them to learn how to waltz and do the foxtrot.  He did it because he wanted to help them change their lives. At first his students thought he was really weird, and they weren’t interested at all in what he was selling.  Pierre Dulane didn’t get discouraged though.  Instead he continued to smother his students with a love that was patient and kind, and after a while it worked. Their self-esteem went up and they began to believe in themselves.  Not only did they start to do ballroom dancing, some of them even turned their lives around.

The key to change is will power.  The key to change is love and what better love to help you  change than the love of God that was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. That love is what makes it possible for you to change.  That love is what makes it possible for you to be a new creation.  That love makes you realize that you can become more assertive and not let people take advantage of you.  That love makes you realize that you can let go of your anger and forgive someone who hurt you. That love makes you realize that you go on living after your spouse dies or your marriage comes to an end.  That love makes you realize that you can leave a relationship that isn’t healthy for you.  As you get older that love makes you realize that you can be humble and let others help you.

That key to change is love.  A mother saw that first hand when she went to volunteer at a local nursing home.  On this particular day her husband had to work so she had to bring her little boy with her.  So she went to the nursing home with her little boy and bouquets of freshly cut red and yellow snapdragons and zinnias.  When they got to the nursing home she and her son Taylor went from room to room and delivered the flowers to the residents.  After they’d gone to three or four rooms Taylor surprised his mother when he went over and gave the elderly woman a hug.  Then he whispered something in her ear that definitely changed the mood in the room.  It cheered her up and made her smile.  Taylor did the same thing with each of the other residents they visited.  He gave each of them  a hug and whispered something in their ear that made them smile.  Later that evening during diner the mother asked her son what it was that he whispered to each of the elderly women. At that point the little boy smiled and replied, “All I said was, ‘I love you, Grandma.  You look soooo beautiful today.’”

The key to change is love.  The Apostle Paul knew it and if you still don’t believe that he knew what he was talking about then you might want to think twice about coming to see me when you’re having a problem.  That’s because if you don’t believe God’s love can help you change and become a new creation then it might be a waste of time for you and for me.  However, and this is a very important however, my door will always be open because I believe that those words that the Apostle Paul wrote are true!  I believe that the love of God that was in Christ does make it possible to change.  I believe that the love of God that was in Christ does make it possible for you to become a new creation!  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 18, 2007