I just recently ran across a very profound proverb. It goes like this: “If we do not change our direction we are likely to end up where we are headed.” That proverb got me to thinking. What if Martin Luther had not changed where he was heading as a catholic monk—appalled at the corruption of the selling of indulgences? What if John Wesley had not changed his direction to reach out to the poor and less fortunate people that the Church of England was overlooking? There are several examples we could think of from history as well as our own lives.
Luther’s change in direction would later impact not only his own life but the course of history as well. The change that Luther made in his own life became a catalyst for launching what became the Protestant Reformation.
Wesley’s change in direction started a reform movement as well. Both Wesley and Luther also have something else in common, that is that neither one of them set out to start a new denomination. Wesley, like Luther meant to start a reform movement and in both cases the reform movements became so much more. Their reform movements led to the formations of mainline denominations—the Lutherans and the Methodists.
So this proverbial observation is not easy to address where it makes us seriously consider how our own decisions not only impact our own lives but the lives of those around us as well as those who come after us. The chances are that the changes we make in our direction will not have an impact as large and as dramatic as that of Luther and Wesley, but it will have an impact. What changes would God have us to make?
Change is the one thing that people seem to resist the most. Just look at the challenges of change we see in God’s Word. God sent Moses to deliver His people and they complained. The Lord told Moses to send twelve spies to investigate the land of Canaan that God was going to give to Israel. Ten complained and two were ready to comply. God sent prophet after prophet to convict and convert His people who went astray again and again. Finally, God sent His Son to save the world. We all need a Savior, but do we allow Jesus to be both our Lord and Savior? Even today as it was with those who came before us, people would rather choose what is comfortable and make compromises rather than to let Jesus be Lord of all.
If we did not make the changes that God would have us make, then where would we end up? If we do not obey God and build according to His will, then we build in vain (Psalm 127:1). When we trust our own way and lean to our own under-standing, then we will surely make a mess of things. Consider the advice of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (ESV).
Rev. John M. Williams, III
Humor from our Pastor
While reading her Bible on a public bus, a bashful Christian was confronted by a belligerent man. He boldly asked if she believed everything in the Bible. She affirmed she did. He then said, “If you believe everything, then explain to me how Jonah lived for three days in the belly of a whale!” The unassuming woman answered, “I don’t know, but I believe he did.” The man became more agitated. “Lady, you should be able to explain what you believe!” She quietly repeated her inability to know exactly how Jonah survived but noted she would ask him once she got to heaven. Sarcastically, the rude guy queried, “And what if Jonah didn’t make it to heaven?” She replied, “Then you ask him.”
* Ike Reighard, SBC Pastor’s Conference, 1993 SFP