Dear Members and Friends of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church,
Can we change? That is a simple question isn’t it? And the short answer, the instantaneous gut reaction may be a lightning-fast “No. I am what I am. I am what God made me to be. What I do I do and I don’t see that that can be any different than it now is. I am stuck in my ways.”
But if we were honest with ourselves, we would need to admit that we do in fact change, and change frequently. Take, for example, this month of September. September is a month of change isn’t it? It is the month when our summer schedule must come to a screeching halt, and the fall schedule followed. If we have children, this involves all sorts of changes: Getting up at a different time, preparing meals at a different time, monitoring homework, keeping track of activities, etc. If we have a yard and garden, there are all of the cleaning and straightening activities that must be done: Mowing at a different height, raking, weeding, composting, transplanting, trimming, etc. If we have heavier equipment, there are preparations to be made: Mowers and trimmers and blowers need to be winterized and the snow blower tuned up and made ready to go. In fact, September brings so many changes to our families, if we were honest with ourselves we would need to admit, that September is a month of momentous change!
So why do we do it? Why do we suddenly shift gears in September, and, well, change? Well our September changes are driven by carrots and sticks aren’t they? The carrots are things like a better education for our children, greater harmony at home as people come and go more frequently; lots of good vegetables and fruits to eat; a nicer looking lawn in the spring; a snow blower that actually runs the first time we use it. The sticks? Uneducated children; no produce from our gardens; the death of our lawn; and machinery that becomes a pile of junk.
Of course there are many other ways we change, as we age, as we grow, as life around us shifts and alters. If anything our problem is not that we cannot change, but that we are constantly changing and we wish simply, to have a few moments, days or months when everything stays the same!
Not surprisingly, our life in Christ is one of constant change. How so? Daily in Christ we identify those things which we should not do, or should do, and try to stop doing those things we should not, and do those things we should! This is called “putting off the old self” and “putting on the new self!” This is a process driven by the Holy Spirit which would have us ever become less and less like the way we were born, and more and more like we were reborn through our baptisms into Christ!
How can you change in Christ? As September is a month of change, perhaps simply a commitment to attend worship more often, step into a Bible study, start having daily devotions at home or set about reading the Bible.
You can change! The Holy Spirit has been given to you to make that change! Don’t try to stay the same, but put off that old self, and put on the new! Embrace through the arms of faith your rebirth, your new life in Christ!
Your Servant in Christ,
Pastor Strawn
