THE TRIUMPHANT THOUGHT LIFE (4 OF 6)
Scripture: I PETER 4:1
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The Triumphant Thought Life
Robert Walker
I Peter 4:1
Our culture even verges on an addiction to change. "Extreme Makeovers" that turn "ugly ducklings" into "The Swan" are the new staple of the reality television market. After only three months, six surgeries, and countless hours of coaching, regular men and women are turned into supermodels.
In less than an hour we get to see the entire transformation--minimizing the dangers of surgery, the bruising, the isolation, the pain. And of course, at the end of every episode we hear the "new" person's testimony that "It was all worth it!"
These stories of sudden transformation are not new. For centuries, frogs have turned into handsome princes and pumpkins into carriages. We seem to like, at least in our stories, the magic of a sudden and sweeping change.
But real life is different. In real life, change is often frightening and we don't meet it so much with optimism--
There's a story of a minister who went to visit a deathly ill parishioner. Knowing his time was short, he gave her precise instructions for his memorial service--the hymns to be sung, the suit he wanted to be buried in. With his strength ebbing, he seized the pastor's hand and whispered, "I want to be buried with a fork in my hand."
"I don't understand," she replied.
"In all my years of church socials and potlucks, whenever the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would say, 'Hold on to your fork.' It was my favorite part of the meal because I always knew something better was coming, like chocolate cake or apple strudel--something wonderful! When people see me in the casket, they'll ask you, 'What's with the fork?' And you tell them for me, 'Hang on to your fork. The best is yet to come!'
The most constant power in our society today is the power of change. The theory that if this world was 50,000 years old and if we were to say one life span was 62 years it would mean that this world has existed for 800 lifetime ...
Robert Walker
I Peter 4:1
Our culture even verges on an addiction to change. "Extreme Makeovers" that turn "ugly ducklings" into "The Swan" are the new staple of the reality television market. After only three months, six surgeries, and countless hours of coaching, regular men and women are turned into supermodels.
In less than an hour we get to see the entire transformation--minimizing the dangers of surgery, the bruising, the isolation, the pain. And of course, at the end of every episode we hear the "new" person's testimony that "It was all worth it!"
These stories of sudden transformation are not new. For centuries, frogs have turned into handsome princes and pumpkins into carriages. We seem to like, at least in our stories, the magic of a sudden and sweeping change.
But real life is different. In real life, change is often frightening and we don't meet it so much with optimism--
There's a story of a minister who went to visit a deathly ill parishioner. Knowing his time was short, he gave her precise instructions for his memorial service--the hymns to be sung, the suit he wanted to be buried in. With his strength ebbing, he seized the pastor's hand and whispered, "I want to be buried with a fork in my hand."
"I don't understand," she replied.
"In all my years of church socials and potlucks, whenever the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would say, 'Hold on to your fork.' It was my favorite part of the meal because I always knew something better was coming, like chocolate cake or apple strudel--something wonderful! When people see me in the casket, they'll ask you, 'What's with the fork?' And you tell them for me, 'Hang on to your fork. The best is yet to come!'
The most constant power in our society today is the power of change. The theory that if this world was 50,000 years old and if we were to say one life span was 62 years it would mean that this world has existed for 800 lifetime ...
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