A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle to carry him on his back across the river.  "Are you crazy?" said the turtle.  "You'll sting me while we're swimming and I'll drown."  "My dear turtle," laughed the scorpion, "If I were to sting you, you may drown but I'd drown with you.  Now where is the logic in that?"  "You're right," cried the turtle, "Hop on!"  The scorpion climbed aboard and halfway across the river suddenly gave the turtle a mighty sting.  As they both began to sink, the turtle sighed and said, "Do you mind if I ask why?  You said there'd be no logic in your stinging me.  Why'd you do it?"  The drowning scorpion sadly replied, "Stinging you has nothing to do with logic; it's  just my nature."

          "That's just the way I am."  "It's human nature."  How often have we said or heard that?  It's the logic of a man who believes there's little hope for others to change.  It's the comment of a woman who doesn't want to change.  Or it's someone who wants to be excused for wrong actions.  "It isn't my fault - he made me do it!" says the little child and also the grown adult.  "We have to live together; it's too expensive living apart."

          Whether on the playground or in the courtroom, it's our nature to point the finger, to blame others.  Someone else must have caused my problem.  It can't be me - I'm not that wrong.  I couldn't have done that.  I'm not that stupid because if I am, I'll have to accept the consequences.  I'll have to apologize, and saying "I'm wrong" is against my nature.

          Early in my ministry I remember hearing an old Lutheran tell me, "That's the way people are, Pastor; you'd better get used to it." But you know, I never have.  I've always wanted to be a part of change for the better.  I've always thought leading a church and preaching sermons would change people, and I've never grown accustomed to the fact that it usually doesn't work that way.

          You see, people don't change people, God does.  He brings us experiences that change our lives.  He takes away the oldness of sin and replaces it with newness of His love.  He removes our sins, but then seeks to change us to be more like Christ.  St. Paul tells us today, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" God isn't satisfied with our old human nature.  He wants to change us into something better than we are.

          After they were married, Mary and Joe discovered they had a fundamental difference.  Mary loved to move the furniture and redecorate their house.  Joe was just happy with a TV, the frig and an easy chair.  But Mary moved things around often and found ways to make their small home more efficient and attractive.  Joe helped her move things, but didn't always see why it was needed.  Yet the more she decorated, the better their house looked.  And soon Joe began to appreciate her changes and even offered suggestions or made changes before she did.  Mary was helping Joe become a better person, not by telling him, but by gently showing him.

          God loves to redecorate our lives.  Actually, He has to.  Let Him live long enough in your heart and your heart will begin to change.  Old pictures of hurt will be replaced with new landscapes of grace.  Old walls of anger will be torn down and new foundations will be built.  Old cracks in our walls will be patched with new plaster and old rooms redecorated with new furniture.  God can no more leave a life unchanged than a mother can leave her child's face unwashed.  And always the life He changes becomes better.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

          God loves us just the way we are, but He'll not leave us that way for long.  It's not enough for Him to have us for His own; He wants to change us.  And we know the importance of this in our own families.  Suppose you buy your little boy an ice cream cone and as you're handing it to him, notice his mouth is filled with sand.  You love him, despite the sand and dirt, but you don't leave him that way.  You first wash his mouth, and then give him the ice cream.  God does the same for us.  He loves us no less because of our dirty faces, but first He has to wash our faces to cleanse us for something better.  God loves us just the way we are, but He'll not leave us that way for long.  He wants us to be more and more like Jesus.

          God loves us just the way we are.  If you think His love for you would be stronger if your faith were stronger, you're wrong.  Don't confuse God's love with people's love.  People's love often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes.  Not so with God's love.  It's constant.

          Max Lucado once wrote, "God's loves never ceases - never.  Though we spurn Him, ignore Him, reject Him, despise Him or disobey Him, He will not change.  Our evil cannot diminish His love.  Our goodness cannot increase it.  Our faith does not earn His love anymore than our stupidity jeopardizes it.  God loves you right where you are.  But He refuses to leave you that way."

          And so when we mess up, God holds us over the fountain.  "Spit out the dirt, honey," He says, "I've got something better for you."  And so He cleanses us of all our dirt, immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness and greed.  We don't enjoy His cleansing, and sometimes we even opt for dirt rather than ice cream.  "I can eat dirt if I want to!" we pout and gripe.  And that's true - we can, but the loss is ours.  God has a better offer - He wants us to be like Jesus.

          That fiery ordeal, that sickness or personal struggle, even that Sunday sermon that hits us between the eyes is God's way of cleansing us for something better.  He loves us despite our sins, failures and rebellion, but He wants to change us to be better, to be more like His Son.  Thank God for our struggles!  He's preparing us for something much greater than if He left us just the way we are!  "The old has gone, the new has come!"

          Where did we ever get the idea we can't change?  What gives us the right to say, "It's my nature to worry," or "I'm just pessimistic," or "I can't help it - it's my temper"?  Says who?  Would we make such statements about our bodies?  Would we say, "It's just my nature to have a broken leg.  I can't do anything about it"?  Of course not.  We'd seek help, get the leg set and into a cast.  In the same way shouldn't we seek help for our hearts?  Shouldn't we seek help for our bad attitudes or our selfish tantrums or our filthy mouths?  Of course we should.  Jesus can change our hearts!  He wants us to have a heart like His.  In Him, "the old has gone, the new has come!"

          The heart of Jesus was holy and pure.  He was tempted as we are, but never sinned.  He was surrounded by women, but never lusted for them.  He was scorned by His contemporaries, but willingly forgave them.  He was often in need but never let worry control Him.  When storms arose, He slept through them because He knew the Father was in control.  When His friends denied Him or betrayed Him or even argued with Him, He was at peace.  He refused vengeance and forgave His enemies.  Those who knew Him best said, "In Him is no sin." (1 John 3:5)

          Our hearts seem so far from His.  He is pure; we are greedy.  He is peaceful; we are hassled.  He is pleasant; we are cranky.  He is spiritual; we are earth-bound.  How can we ever become like Christ?  How can we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus?

          Ready for a surprise?  You already do!  Wake up, sleepy Christian - you already have the heart of Christ!  If you have faith in Christ, you are changed!  "The old has gone, the new has come."  One of God's wonderful and yet most unrealized promises is this:  if you give your life to Jesus, He'll give Himself to you.  St. Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)  If you give your life to Jesus, He'll give Himself to you.  He'll move in, unpack His bags and transform us, "...into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18)  As strange as it seems, we Christians do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.  Question is, does it show in our lives?

          As we leave Drinkwine Chapel today, Epiphany closes a chapter on its history.  By God's grace we got our start in a brand new funeral chapel, and in two weeks we'll be in brand new school.  For someone like myself who usually gets everything used, all this newness is a bit unnerving.  Even the process of helping you choose where to go next was so unnerving I didn't guide you right.  But God's in charge of my life and your life and our church's life.  "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth and mountains be moved." (Ps. 46)  By His grace, "the old has gone, the new has come!"

          But something should be said about the past two months and its flurry of activity.  We went from the comfort of the old into the discomfort of the new.  We found land and have made an offer that appears will be accepted.  We're trying to figure out what it takes to work with the County, and that means for our future.  As a congregation we're going into debt.  We're moving into a new place.  All this during summer when people are vacationing.  It's little wonder our new family of Epiphany has had its first spat.  But God brought us through it, healing us, and toughened us for what lies ahead.

          No doubt about it, God has ambitious plans for us.  The One who's made us into a fledgling church has given us a new chapter to write.  The One who's saved our souls wants to change our hearts.  God wants to make us like His Son.  Shall we accept His offer?  Here's my thought:  Imagine what it means to be just like Jesus.  When did He pray?  How did He forgive?  What made Him pleasant to be around?  Before we act, let's ask, "What would Jesus do?"  Then let's fix our eyes on Him and, seeing what He's done for us, let's see what we can become for Him.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.