3.8-Do we have to change? Why?

3.8-Do we have to change? Why?

For all of our 51 years of marriage Sheila and I have been changing. 

 I saw a television piece about how the number one restaurant in the entire world stopped and completely remodeled the New York restaurant.  The owner was asked about it. 

“What about the idea, ‘Don’t fix it unless it is broke.’"

He replied with this quote from the artist,

Willem de Kooning

“I have to change to stay the same.”

He further said, “If we were to stop changing we would lose who we are.”

This month is the fifth anniversary of the fall breaking my knee which began the move in my life from 30 years of joy with the SE church in Denver, CO. 

Between March and July of 2013 we wrapped up our work, sold our home, got rid of many things we didn’t want and need and few that we miss.  What we miss most is our beloved friends from Denver.  We moved to North Richland Hills Texas.

Given a freedom to choose which town we would live in during this phase of our lives we choose NRH because of it being in North Texas near our son and daughter in love, Jeff and Donna.

We also choose The Hills church where most of my family went to church.  This congregation has a practice of changing things up.  Stirring things up to get more growth and fruit is a spiritual principle of Jesus.  God wants us all to be growing and producing fruit in every phase of our lives.

When I fell on 3.22.13 and was unable to move my lower left leg I knew there were big changes ahead for me.  My wife and I called it a “precipitating event” to push for a change in the places we worked and the speed of our work and the partners in our work.  These five years have been great.  God has brought to us some great new friends.  We kept our old friend from Denver although we have only visited a few times so far.  Many have come to visit us here.

This is a report on what we have discovered.  Things change.  If we pray and change them positively we can manage to make the change an improvement.  If we refuse to change on purpose the change will come, but it will not be an improvement.

Luke 19 Jesus uses a Greek work, Metanoia, (repent) to say that all people must “change” in order to not die and perish spiritually.

We have changed states and towns.  We have changed doctors.  We have changed friendships.  We have changed congregations.  We have changed houses.  We have changed cars.  We have changed roles.  We have changed our daily habits.

Luke

13 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had ^[ae]mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? ³ I tell you, no, but unless you ^[af]repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse ^[ag]culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

⁶ And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. ⁷ And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree ^[ah]without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; ⁹ and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

One of the lessons from our preacher during the first year we were here was a line I will not forget.  Rick Atchley said some word similar to these, “If you are new here you should know that we change things up here.  Always we intend to improve things by the change.  Sometimes the change seems to have a neutral effect.  At other times it seems to have a positive effect.  Yes, even changes that turn out to have an unexpected negative effect.  What you should know that we believe in changing things up.”

So we have had our lives plowed up and stirred up and it has been good.  Thank you God.

We hope to change some more.

Please God,

More health, spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally and socially.

Amen.

Larry Wishard

3.4.18