"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new." -Machiavelli, The Prince, 1515
As Machiavelli understood, most of the time people resist change. Why is that? Why do we fear and resist change? And what do we do when, in spite of our best efforts, change comes barging into our lives? How do we keep our footing when the foundations of our life start to shake? How does our faith in Jesus Christ enable us to survive change, cope with change and find joy and peace in the midst of change?
I’d like to address these questions by examining an event in the life of the Abraham, who lived about 1900 B.C. It takes place when Abraham is living in Haran, a city near the border of present-day Turkey and Syria.
"The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran."
- Genesis 12:1-4 (NIV)
Why is change so hard?
· First, all change, even good change, involves "leaving." It involves separation from people, places, from relationships, from things. It involves loss - giving up things that we don’t want to give up. What did Abraham have to leave? His country, his people, and his family.
* His country - Abraham had to physically change his place of residence and go to a place far away with different laws, different customs. A different language, different food, different mode of dress.
* Have you traveled or lived in another country? Did you feel at home there?
* Differences between places were more pronounced then because of isolation. There was no mass culture to smooth out regional differences [no McDonald’s, no television].
* Also, there was nothing to give you some idea of what another culture was like, other than traveler’s tales. No National Geographic, no Fodor’s travel guides.
* His people and his father’s household - Abraham was leaving his extended family, which was very important in Ancient Near Eastern culture. They didn’t think in terms of political or geographical divisions. There were no nations as we think of them today. Their social identity was the family, the clan, and the tribe. So Abraham was not only separating geographically, he was separating socially. And in those days, when you left, it was for good. In all likelihood, he would never see them again (no telephones, no email, no Post Office).
* In short, Abraham’s "leaving" was as complete as it could possibly have been.
What changes are taking place in your life? What "leaving" and "loss" is making the change more difficult? Let me give some examples.
* When you leave a job, you may be leaving behind relationships with people you enjoyed working with ["site-specific" friendships], a set of tasks that you were good at and enjoyed doing, a window office or a nice cafeteria. You may be giving up a pleasant work routine - flexible hours, casual Fridays. You may be giving up prestige or authority. If you don’t have another job lined up, you may be losing the security of a regular paycheck or a good salary.
* When you move - due to a job transfer, for instance. You leave behind good friends, neighbors, family members. You leave behind all your contacts, the infrastructure of your life - the pediatrician your kids like, the babysitters who like your kids, the auto mechanic you trust, the shop on the corner where you like to get bagels on Sunday morning. You lose your church family. You lose your house, that you’ve spent so much time working on so that it just "fits" you and feels like home.
* When you marry or have children (although both are a great blessing), you lose some of your autonomy, your freedom, your flexibility. You can’t just pick up on the spur of the moment and drive to Washington D.C. to see the cherry blossoms. You can’t just decide at 5:00 that you’re going to dinner in downtown Cleveland. Kids aren’t like dogs - you can’t just put them in a kennel when you go on vacation. [When you have kids, you mourn the loss of your freedom, and then when they grow up you mourn the loss of their childhood, and finally when they move away, you mourn the loss of their companionship].
* Any kind of change - graduating from school, getting married, getting divorced, having children, losing a child, buying a new house, moving, getting a new job, leaving a job, growing old, becoming ill, retiring - any kind of change, even positive change, involves some kind of "leaving," some kind of "loss."
· A second reason why change is hard is that it involves risk, uncertainty, fear. What did God tell Abraham about where he was going? "Go to the land I will show you." "Gee thanks, God. That helps a lot. I’ll just call triple A and get my travel plans drawn up." Change launches us into an uncertain future. "Just when I learned all the answers, they changed the questions."
* Just when you’ve got things pretty well under control at work, there’s a big reorganization and you’re in a different department, reporting to a different manager, working with different people, doing a different job. And the floor you’re on doesn’t have Mountain Dew in the soda machine. What if . . . ?
* Just when you and your new husband, or new wife, have gotten on an even keel, to the point that you’re starting to get used to each other - she’s learning to live with underwear on the floor; he’s learning to talk about his "feelings" - just then, a new baby arrives and does to your life what a bowling ball does to ten bowling pins. What if . . . ? Or you’ve gotten used to one and then here comes a second, or a third [first child drops a pacifier: boil it and sanitize it; second child: put it under the faucet, third child: wipe it off on your shirt]
* Just when you get used to your home, your kids have made friends in the neighborhood; you’ve found a place to get cheap ice cream cones, you’ve worked your way up to vice-president of the PTA, you know where the good Farmer’s Markets are - it’s time to move. What if I can’t find a good doctor? What if our new neighbors don’t like us? What if . . . ?
What changes are you facing? What uncertainties and fears do you have?
How can we thrive in the midst of change?
· First, remember that everything we possess in this world is temporary. Our possessions, jobs, relationships, our physical bodies - all are destined to pass away. That doesn’t mean they’re unimportant or that we shouldn’t care about them. It doesn’t mean that we don’t mourn their loss. But we must not become so attached to anything in this world that we’re not willing to let it go. Because eventually, one way or another, we will have to [Examples].
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country . . . . For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
- Hebrews 11:8-10, 15-16 (NIV)
· This world and everything in it is destined to pass away.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
- 2 Peter 3:10-13 (NIV)
· That may not seem very comforting. But it is the way of wisdom. And it is comforting when the transitory, impermanent nature of this life causes us to reflect on the life to come. In that life, there will be no loss, no leaving, no mourning, no death. Friends will be friends forever, with no parting or separation [even those in this room]. No relationship will ever be broken, no loved one ever lost to us. We will know nothing but unending joy as we have fellowship with one another and with Jesus Christ.
* Not only will our fellowship be without end, it will be far sweeter; unmarred by the those things that hinder fellowship here, no pride, anger, bitterness. Just perfect love and acceptance. ["to live above with saints we love, now that will be glory. To live below with saints we know, now that’s another story"] Think of that the next time you get irritated at a brother or sister in Christ - you’re going to be spending eternity with them.
· Just as there will be no separation from those we love, there will be no loss of possessions.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you. - 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)
In this world, we can experience great loss; eventually, we can experience nothing else. But in the world to come, we can never experience loss of any kind.
· Second, remember that although our circumstances may change, God does not change. His promises toward us don’t change. His love for us; His care and concern for us never change and will never change, for eternity to come.
"I the LORD do not change." - Malachi 3:6 (NIV)
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord." - Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."
- Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)
· Finally, take courage in the knowledge that God knows and controls the future. He is the one making the changes in our lives; He is guiding all events according to His good purposes.
"I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please . . . . What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do."
- Isaiah 46:9-11 (NIV)
What was the purpose and result of Abraham’s change? The founding of the Jewish nation, which eventually resulted in the "whole earth being blessed" through Christ.
Conclusion
God is in control of the changes taking place in your life. God has a plan for you, a good, loving, wise plan. He is working it out even now. His love for you will never cease or diminish. Place your trust in Him.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
