When Everything Changes

When Everything Changes
Mark 1-5
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.”
When Christ enters a life, everything changes. There are times and events in our lives that are so dramatic that they become defining moments, when everything about us and how we live changes. We can reflect upon how our marriage or having children results in a dramatic shift of priorites.  This is what happens when we accept Christ. Throughout the first five chapters of Mark, we find a number of people who encounter the person of Christ. We first find two fishermen, Simon and Andrew, fishing along the Sea of Galilee. Yet when they were confronted with Christ, everything immediately changed, for Jesus gave them a whole new purpose in life. No longer would they be fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. They would become fishermen of people, and their ministry would extend far beyond the region in which they grew up. A leper was not only healed but became an unstoppable witness for Christ. Levi was a despised tax collector for the Romans and so was seen as a traitor to the people. Yet when Christ commanded him to follow him, he immediately got up and followed, and began to be a witness to others who were seen as outcasts. Throughout the Gospels, we see over and over again that when people have a direct confrontation with Christ, it completely and radically transforms their lives. It changes their character, their purpose, and their relationships with others.  
Tragically, today people often encounter Christ but remain unchanged. They attend church and may even read their Bible, but they continue to live the same way they did before. They give verbal assent to the teaching of Christ, but they do not change their conduct. When we read through the Gospels, we find over and over again people who had a genuine encounter with Christ, and when they did, they were changed. Embracing Christ brings about a change in one's outlook on life. In Mark 2:21-22, Christ points to the importance of this change. Christ did not come merely to rearrange a few areas of our life. This would be like putting a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment or putting new wine into old wineskins. The result would be disastrous, leaving the person in a worse condition than before. When we embrace Christ, he desires to make us new, to radically change every aspect of our life, including our desires, goals, wants, and the direction of our life. A relationship with him is not based upon external: who we are related to or how often we attend church. Our relationship is grounded in our submission to him (3:28-35). In the parable of the Sower, the fruit of the harvest is not just how much we do in ministry for God; it is also the change in life that God brings about in order that we might serve him.
This leads us to the question each of us is confronted with. How much does Christ make a difference in your life? How much does your relationship with him change your priorities, purpose, and desires? Do you merely know about Christ, or are you radically changed by him?