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This Month's Featured Sermon: “What People See, Who You Are” 11-4-07 by Lee Cannon
Matthew 5:14-16 Have you known someone who changed your outlook and perspective on life? · Like the friend who introduced you to Christ · Like a teacher who looked at you and saw a potential that no one else could see I think back to a teacher that I had in the 8th grade for English. She didn’t particularly like me, I think, and I don’t remember her name. I got C’s in her class and I had a lot of trouble paying attention. Hers was one of the few classes in which I ever had trouble remembering to do my homework. It was a huge effort to make it through the year, but I did. I made it through her class, despite her average teaching ability and her low opinion of me. I remember a teacher I had in the 4th grade, Mrs. Granger. Mrs. Granger had recommended me for the gifted program, which was a very high honor in the Virginia Beach School System. It meant special learning activities, politics, German, movie-making—I even invented a game that was published in the newspaper, “Spotball.” Mrs. Granger looked at my hurried efforts to finish tests and answer questions, and she realized that I was bored. I needed challenges. Perhaps it was her confidence in me that got me through that later teacher who did not see what Mrs. Granger saw. She noticed me, and she cared about me. Sometimes, it only takes one or two people to notice you to make all of the difference in who you are. You want to be what they are. Or to meet what they see in you. You are glad that someone sees you for who you are, or at least the person you want to be. We don’t always live the way we want to be seen. I was talking to a friend recently in the middle of a church split, and she was being accused by others of being one of the divisive factors in the church. She was concerned about how the meetings were being run, which people were being chosen on the committees, and what appeared to be manipulation by the preacher. As members of the church left in large numbers, her efforts became focused on how to use the church rules to put a clamp on the minority who had pushed their way through. She knew what she wanted to do, but what people saw in her was bitterness, anger, and arrogance. Somewhere, the gospel of Christ became secondary to the votes, rules, and the problem at hand. How does that happen? What do people see when they look at you? Subject: THE WOODEN BOWL A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl! When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometime he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work . The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. A son looked at his parents, saw what they were becoming, and helped them to be someone else. We leave impressions on many, many people. Every now and then, I think back to an older Christian man who did some extraordinary services on my behalf, and I asked him, “Why?” He replied, “I’d do the same for a friend.” That phrase has become an ever-present thought in my mind when I have the opportunity to do something for someone else, and I’ve passed that encouragement on to a few others over the years. In teaching his disciples, Jesus once said,
Matthew 5:14-16 What is the light of your life? Where does it shine? Your light may be the way you share the gospel; I’ve known a few extraordinary souls who could really tell the Good News effectively. Maybe your light is noticing someone’s potential. Maybe your light is caring for people who are in a tough predicament. Whatever it is, your life changes other peoples’ lives. We all do it unconsciously, from time-to-time. Jesus is encouraging us to do it consciously, as well. Give a thought as to how you can improve someone’s hopes or confidence, and thus, increase their faith or the way that they express it. Be a light. Look different than the world around you. Over and over, the Bible tells us to be like Christ. Colossians 3:1-4 Instead of falling to the deceptions of the false teachers, the Colossian church was to keep seeking things above. To dwell on the fact that Christ was their life. In Christ they were complete, which implied that they needed no supplement. When others came along to promote other nonsense, they were to reiterate what they knew: that Christ was the way to God. To be useful to God, we must become like his son. We are told to set our minds on things above. What does that mean? God has a way of doing things, and we have a way of doing things. To be Christ-like is to adopt God’s way. To care about his concerns. Even in the midst of a church split, there is a way to be like Christ. To show kindness, humility, and love. A person can stick to his or her beliefs without compromising the Christ-like spirit that we are called to have. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, empowering us to reflect the goodness of our Lord. We only need to listen and let it out. We have died to Christ, Paul reminds us. Why does he have to remind us? Isn’t because we keep forgetting? We go back to the same old ways, or we begin to focus on principles that seem to be really important, but they aren’t God’s concerns. Maybe, we are even a little bit afraid to turn our situation over to God to resolve. What if he chooses to destroy the temple of God, rather than deciding for the way that seems so clear to us? That’s the problem with presuming ourselves to be in the right all of the time. If we are truly disciples who have taken up the cross of Christ, we have accepted that the way is about, “Not my will but yours be done.” What do people see when they look at you? Who are you?
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