A Change Of Perspective
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"A Change of Perspective" by Peter Andrew Smith
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A Change of Perspective
by Peter Andrew Smith
Colossians 3:1-4
There once was a man who tried to be good. He was nice to his friends and strove to always be honorable. He gave some of his spending money at Christmas to charity and dug through the cupboards to donate unwanted cans when there was a food drive for the needy in his community. He was honest with his girlfriend when he decided to end their relationship and he stayed away from the people at work who were padding their expense accounts.
When he was faced with a difficult situation, a moral dilemma, he would think to himself "what is the right thing?" and often that helped him decide what to do. Yet there were times when he was unsure of his behavior and he couldn't shake the feeling that sometimes his decisions were what he wanted to do rather than being the right choice.
He found himself at the funeral of a close friend and couldn't stop thinking about the meaning of life. He had never really paid much attention to God in the past but was curious about some of the things the pastor said. He wasn't sure about everything he heard but found himself seriously thinking about God and faith.
So the man began to consider what God expected of him. He attended church each Sunday, read the Bible, and paid close attention to the commandments and instructions. He was kind to all his neighbours, even the ones he found difficult. He tithed from his income and regularly volunteered at the local food bank. He wanted to please God in his life and tried to be a holy person.
Sometimes he succeeded. He would do what he knew he was supposed to do and felt good about himself and his achievement. Yet more often than not he came up short. He noticed that often he wasn't as kind as he should be and sometimes that he gave in to temptation. He was wracked with guilt that he was not living as he should in life. He worried that he was disappointing God by his actions. He felt like a failure.
He found himself at the church one day praying as hard as he could for help to do better in his life but he feared it would make no difference. He started to go out the door when he noticed some of the children of the church playing and laughing.
"I wish I could be carefree like them," he muttered.
"Why can't you?" came a voice from beside him. "Don't you believe in Jesus?"
He turned to see an old woman who sat in the row behind him at church.
"I know how hard it is to follow Jesus," he replied. "I know what God expects of me."
The woman pointed to the cross at the front of the church. "Why do you think Jesus died for us?"
"So that we might be forgiven of our sins," he answered.
"Then why can't you live as someone who is forgiven?" she asked.
"But I'm not always a good person."
She smiled at him. "Jesus never told us to get our lives right so God would love us but rather to know that God loves us and allow that love to change our lives."
The man thought about the woman's words. He thought about all he had learned in church and went back to the Bible. He still saw the rules and the expectations but he no longer saw them as what he was supposed to do to make God happy. Instead he saw them as a way for him to come to know God and the life God was calling him to live. He stopped focussing on what he thought God wanted him to do and began to consider how a person offered love and grace should live.
The man continued to be a good person. He gave to others and was kind and generous. The man continued to be a holy person by paying attention to the rules and commandments that God gave to him. Yet most of all he lived as one of God's people. When he failed in something he confessed and accepted forgiveness. When he struggled he took that as a sign that he was facing something difficult in life. Most of all though he found an unexpected joy and a delight because his eyes were no longer looking at the world according to right and wrong, good or evil, but rather as someone who knew the grace and hope of Christ.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS), a book of lectionary-based communion prayers, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 20, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"A Change of Perspective" by Peter Andrew Smith
* * * * * * *
A Change of Perspective
by Peter Andrew Smith
Colossians 3:1-4
There once was a man who tried to be good. He was nice to his friends and strove to always be honorable. He gave some of his spending money at Christmas to charity and dug through the cupboards to donate unwanted cans when there was a food drive for the needy in his community. He was honest with his girlfriend when he decided to end their relationship and he stayed away from the people at work who were padding their expense accounts.
When he was faced with a difficult situation, a moral dilemma, he would think to himself "what is the right thing?" and often that helped him decide what to do. Yet there were times when he was unsure of his behavior and he couldn't shake the feeling that sometimes his decisions were what he wanted to do rather than being the right choice.
He found himself at the funeral of a close friend and couldn't stop thinking about the meaning of life. He had never really paid much attention to God in the past but was curious about some of the things the pastor said. He wasn't sure about everything he heard but found himself seriously thinking about God and faith.
So the man began to consider what God expected of him. He attended church each Sunday, read the Bible, and paid close attention to the commandments and instructions. He was kind to all his neighbours, even the ones he found difficult. He tithed from his income and regularly volunteered at the local food bank. He wanted to please God in his life and tried to be a holy person.
Sometimes he succeeded. He would do what he knew he was supposed to do and felt good about himself and his achievement. Yet more often than not he came up short. He noticed that often he wasn't as kind as he should be and sometimes that he gave in to temptation. He was wracked with guilt that he was not living as he should in life. He worried that he was disappointing God by his actions. He felt like a failure.
He found himself at the church one day praying as hard as he could for help to do better in his life but he feared it would make no difference. He started to go out the door when he noticed some of the children of the church playing and laughing.
"I wish I could be carefree like them," he muttered.
"Why can't you?" came a voice from beside him. "Don't you believe in Jesus?"
He turned to see an old woman who sat in the row behind him at church.
"I know how hard it is to follow Jesus," he replied. "I know what God expects of me."
The woman pointed to the cross at the front of the church. "Why do you think Jesus died for us?"
"So that we might be forgiven of our sins," he answered.
"Then why can't you live as someone who is forgiven?" she asked.
"But I'm not always a good person."
She smiled at him. "Jesus never told us to get our lives right so God would love us but rather to know that God loves us and allow that love to change our lives."
The man thought about the woman's words. He thought about all he had learned in church and went back to the Bible. He still saw the rules and the expectations but he no longer saw them as what he was supposed to do to make God happy. Instead he saw them as a way for him to come to know God and the life God was calling him to live. He stopped focussing on what he thought God wanted him to do and began to consider how a person offered love and grace should live.
The man continued to be a good person. He gave to others and was kind and generous. The man continued to be a holy person by paying attention to the rules and commandments that God gave to him. Yet most of all he lived as one of God's people. When he failed in something he confessed and accepted forgiveness. When he struggled he took that as a sign that he was facing something difficult in life. Most of all though he found an unexpected joy and a delight because his eyes were no longer looking at the world according to right and wrong, good or evil, but rather as someone who knew the grace and hope of Christ.
Peter Andrew Smith is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who currently serves at St. James United Church in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS), a book of lectionary-based communion prayers, as well as many stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
*****************************************
StoryShare, April 20, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
