John 8: I am the Light of the World

Pastor Scott Jonas

John 8

I am the Light of the World

1/27/18

Early in the morning Jesus came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

            Picture the scene.  It is early in the morning, predawn.  It’s still mostly dark.  The sun has not risen completely.  It’s coming out of the night.  Jesus goes through the first courtyard of the temple.  It is called the court of gentiles because anyone is permitted there, including the money changers though it was probably too soon for them to show up.  Jesus continues into the next court, the temple court of women.  It wasn’t just for women but it was the furthest that Jewish women could go.  It’s important to note that Jesus chose this part of the Temple to teach.  He could have gone in one more level and taught only Jewish men but he chooses the court of women presumably because he wants men and women to learn from him. Other rabbis forbid the public teaching of women.  Not Jesus.

            Jesus stops and begins to teach in the dusk.  He sits down and begins to converse with all of those who wanted to listen.  We don’t know what his subject was but there is soon a disruption.  A distraught Jewish woman is dragged into the courtyard and over to Jesus’ circle.  The scribes and Pharisees enter the circle and throw her right in front of the rabbi.  They say loudly for the whole courtyard to hear,

“Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”   Jesus pauses.

Can you imagine what was going on in the minds of those sitting at Jesus’ feet during this pause?  What is Jesus going to say?  Adultery was a serious charge.  In fact, the rabbis said that “Every Jew, man or woman, must die before he will commit idolatry, murder or adultery.”  In other words, adultery is such a destructive violation of God and other that it would be noble to kill yourself rather than commit it.

            When the nation of Israel was formed under Moses, God gave not just the ten commandments but other rules for living together in the desert.  Families lived in tents.  There weren’t the natural societal boundaries that came from living in civilization.  God gave his people specific sexual boundaries so that the nation would survive.  If a man left his tent and met up in a secret rendezvous with another man’s willing wife that had grave consequences.  If they were caught in the act by two witnesses then there would be a trial.  If they were found guilty then it was punishable by death.  Both for the adulterus man and the adulterous woman.

            The Mishnah (Wisdom of the Rabbis)  called for execution of adulterous man by strangulation.  He was buried in dung to above the waist, hands tied, towel wrapped around his neck.  Then two men pulled.  Women were to be stoned.

But here’s the thing.  This punishment was almost never carried out in the history of Israel.  In Deuteronomy 24 it says that if a man finds out that his wife has been indecent (adultery) the husband could divorce her with no other punishment mentioned.

            So if you are a faithful Jew witnessing this scene these are the things going through your mind.  The punishment of death for adultery for sanctioned by God through Moses but it was more of a deterrent than anything.  There was allowance in the law and a practice of alternate sentencing.

            The bystander might have also been thinking, where is the adulterous man?  They both are guilty under the Jewish law, yet he is mysteriously absent.  Was he given the alternate sentencing and the woman was not?  That is definitely not according to the book.  These Pharisees are definitely up to something.  This is very rare behavior.  This must be more about Jesus than about the woman.  It’s a trap.  And this controversy is the bait.

            In that pause, Jesus bends down while still sitting and begins to write.  That is weird.  Right?  Imagine you witness someone bring an woman accused of murder to a police officer.  And instead of putting cuffs on her, instead of thank you for your wonderful public service, instead of scolding the defendant, the policeman just starts using his finger to write on the ground.  Weird!

            The text does not say why he did this or what he wrote but there are lots of theories.  Maybe you have heard them.

            Theory 1 Gain time.  This was just a way to change to tempo.  Cool everyone down.  Throw off the Pharisees.  This theory really doesn’t explain what he wrote so I don’t like it.

            Theory 2  He paused and wrote to force them to repeat their charges.  Have you ever asked someone to repeat something because what they have said is so outrageous and dumb that you wanted them to hear what was coming out of their mouths.  That may have been part of it.  But that still doesn’t explain what he wrote.

            Theory 3  Jesus was so ashamed he could not look at the crowd.   JEsus was full man.  And he was fully righteous.  I believe he could have been ashamed to be a man at that moment.  We know nothing about this woman except she is Jewish.  Maybe she is a widow who was forced into poverty and prostitution. The Pharisees were supposed to look out for widows and the weak.  Instead they are using this women as a thing.  She is a means to entrap Jesus. The Pharisees probably didn’t know her name. Maybe they even set her up and that is why the man isn’t there.  Maybe Jesus sees the contrast of The leering look on their faces and the bleak judgement of their eyes.  He is so embarrassed that he looks down and writes.  Maybe.

            Theory 4  He recorded the accusers sins.  The normal greek word for “to write” is graphein.  But here the word used is katagraphein, which means to write down a record against someone.  This theory believes that JEsus knows the hearts of the Pharisees so writes “pride” and an arrow at one man, writes “anger” and an arrow at another, writes lust and an arrow at another.  They immediately recognize that he knows their private failings.  They become overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

            Theory 5  He wrote out the woman’s judgement.  Judges wrote out the verdict and sentence before declaring it.  In this scenario, Jesus wrote out the word “guilty” because she was.

            And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

            What a turn!  Mosaic law called for the witnesses of a capital crime to be the ones who execute the judgment of the court.  If three men witnessed a murder then after the accused was found guilty they would throw the first stones and the rest of those present would join in.

            Instead of defending the women’s innocence he makes the accusers consider their own guilt.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  All deserve God’s punishment.  Had you and I been there what sin could he have written in the dirt for us? 

            But when they heard his words, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.  His original crowd was still there but the Pharisees and scribes walk away.  The younger ones were trained to follow the lead of their elders.  In council, the oldest voted first and the youngest last.  Here the oldest ones vote with their feet.  The younger ones do the same.

            Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

            What did Jesus write on the ground the second time?  If he wrote “guilty” as his verdict the first time, did he write “Forgiven” as his sentence the second time?  The first writing was the verdict of the Law.  The second writing was the truth of the Gospel.  He erased “Guilty” and wrote “Forgiven.”

            When Jesus sees a sinner he doesn’t have a compulsion to condemn.  He doesn’t want to judge.  He is not eager to punish.  He feels pity.  Jesus created this woman just he created you.  He knit her together.  He knows when she said her first word.  He hears her prayers.  He wants to restore her.  He wants nothing but good things for her.  He loves to forgive her.

            The same is true about Jesus and the Pharisees.  He has pity on them also.  His forgiveness was available for them as well as for her. “In their arrogance they would not await Christ’s second statement: neither do I condemn you.”  They walked away in shame when they could have walked away forgiven.  When you are guilty don’t walk way from Jesus.  Come close and he will say, “Neither do I condemn you.”

            Jesus loved this woman too much to let her continue in her sin so he says, “Go and sin no more.”  When God forgives you, it’s not a free pass to do whatever you want.  It’s an opportunity to turn your life around.   Go and sin no more means, ask for forgiveness from those you have hurt.  Restore your relationships.  Make this right.

            As Jesus says this the sun has risen above the horizon.  It is a new day.  The night is fully gone.

Jesus says,

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Amen.

John 6: I am the Bread of Life

Pastor Scott Jonas

1/14/18

John 6

I am the Bread of Life

                We are journeying through John.  Take out your Bibles, your bulletins or your phones and turn to John chapter 6.  One of the themes of John is the mystery of Jesus.  You’ve heard the typical Stories about Jesus’ life and teachings from the other Gospels but John adds to the story.  He asks the reader to rethink your understanding of Jesus.  John is just following his rabbi’s methods.  Jesus took people’s understanding of God and gave it a twist.  He made his listeners uncomfortable.  Likewise that is part of my job in the Pulpit and in Bible class.  I want to take your grasp of your faith and twist it, make you look at Jesus from another angle.  Our faith should never be static.  There are more and more levels of mystery to dig through.  Some people do not like this.  Just give me the same familiar information.  I want all of my perceptions of God to be reaffirmed.  Don’t upset me.  Sorry.

                John chapter 6 is very upsetting.  But it doesn’t start that way.  It begins with the most comforting of stories, Jesus feeds the 5,000.  Who doesn’t love the feeding of the 5,000?  There is no controversial teaching.  It’s just Jesus blessing people.  A crowd of thousands follows him because of his reputation as a healer.  Jesus has the throng sit down.  He asks a boy to share his meal, takes the five loaves and two pickled fish and creates a bounty that fills the tum tums of everyone.  Can you imagine how good Jesus bread must be?  We’ve all had fresh baked bread.  Now imagine Jesus making bread from scratch.  Ummm, Jesus bread.  You may not like fish but I’m pretty sure you would like newly made Jesus fish.  Can you imagine a finicky kid near Jesus?  And a tired parent with in ear shot of Jesus saying, “Now eat your fish dear.  The nice man just created it for you.  Put it in your mouth.  Swallow it.  I’m going to count to 3.  1, 2, 3.  Aside from that possibility, everyone loved the Jesus bread and the Jesus fish.  They even had enough left over for the disciples to eat for days.  The people were satisfied.  Fat and Happy.  Even Atheists who enjoy picking apart the Bible like the story.  They may not believe Jesus is the Son of God but they like that Jesus feeds to poor and food insecure.  Believers read the story and think Jesus if the miracle man who takes away the rum rum from my tum tum.  Surely he is a prophet!  Atheists read the story and think I can get on board with generous Jesus .  Everyone wins.  The End.

                The story ends with an ominous line.  One that’s prepares the reader that something is about to go down.  There is going to be a twist.  Luke doesn’t have this line follow the story.  Neither does Matthew or Mark.  Here’s the ominous line,

“Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”

                The other Gospels conclude with and “They ate and were satisfied.”  John concludes by saying “Jesus has to book it out of there or the people were going to kidnap him.”  Big difference.

                They just had a lovely picnic with Jesu bread and pickled sardines.  Miracles.  Amazing generosity and conversation.  Yet the reaction was “get that guy.”  Why?

                Let me explain it this way.  You and I have the same impulse in us that that they had.  Human nature hasn’t changed.  I will explain the impulse a little later in the story.  The “get that guy” impulse.

                Then evening comes and Jesus walks on water.  It’s almost as if John is using this well known episode as a bridge between his two main narratives.  It links the Feeding of the 5,000 with the I am the Bread of Life teaching.

                The next day people are trying to find Jesus.  They travel by boat across the sea.  The crowd who was there yesterday told family and friends so now the crowd has grown.  Jesus knows right away why they came.  Did they come to hear his teaching about the Father?  Boring.  Did they come to see a sign that the kingdom of heaven was near?  No.  Did they come because they love Jesus?  Not even close.  He says, “You came because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  They came for the free buffett.  Pathetic.

                Are we any better?  I’m going to ask you a question.  If you’ve never asked it before it will cut you to the core.  It is a self awareness test to see if you are any better than the crowds who followed Jesus for the happy meal.  Here’s the question.  Do you follow Jesus because you love him or do you follow Jesus because of the good things he gives you?  I’m going to ask that again, Do you follow Jesus because you love him or do you follow Jesus because of the good things he gives you? 

                There is a difference between the person Jesus and the gifts that come from him.  I’m not just talking about physical gifts like food, water, shelter, health for you and loved ones.  I’m including the spiritual ones like forgiveness, eternal life, acceptance, and  love.  Is God just a cosmic vending machine?  You put your prayers in here and the spiritual gift comes out here.  Totally depersonalized.   Another way of saying it is, “do you love Jesus because of who he is?  Or do you love him for what he can do for you.”

                It’s easier to put our human relationships to this test.  Do you love your mom because of who she is or because she pays for your cell phone service?  Do you love your kids because of who they are or because they give you the best hugs?  Do you love your pastor because of who he is or because he preaches a lively sermon?  That’s really the most important one. 

                Jesus knows that we do this.  “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”  This means that the crowd wanted to force him to be the golden goose who laid the golden eggs.  We never have to be hungry again.  The Jesus machine can spit out bread and fish and who knows what else out for everyone.  We’ll put him in a little white room and make him create things for us.  Imagine what life would be like.  We never have to work again.  I people are sick, we bring them to his little white cell and make him heal them.  If someone has died, we bring the body to his room and make him resurrect them.  If a citizen of Israel has sinned then they can go to his cell and we will make him forgive him.  Imagine all the blessings.  It’s grotesque when you think of it that way.

                But at this point in the story Jesus has not tested them.  They are still in the glow of the free buffett.   The fish probably tasted like bacon and that is why they are so excited.

                Jesus brings the twist to the story.  He says, “You came because you ate your fill.  I tell you that there is food that brings eternal life.  Only I can give it to you, Not Moses, just me.  Because the bread I’m talking about is me.  I am the bread of Life that came down from Heaven.”

                Can you imagine the reaction?  They came for lunch and instead Jesus says “I got something better, me.”  The happy meal is no more.  They started grumbling.  “Does this mean there is no more buffett?”    “I didn’t come here for this.”  .  They are feeling like this is a bait and switch.  They are starting to get rowdy.  Jesus could calm the crowd, instead he takes it up a notch.

                “Truly, Truly I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”  You can see the looks of disappointment turn to revulsion. 

                You might be tempted to interpret Jesus’ words as purely figurative.  “Eat the Flesh of the son of man” just means “Take me in” or “Injest my ideas.”  That’s not how the Jews saw it.  Jesus uses the greek word “to eat” which is used for animals chewing.  “Unless you chew Jesus, you have no life in you.”  It gets worse.  Jews were not only forbidden from eating human flesh but also any blood, even animal.  Jesus says “Drink my blood.”  Cannibalism and vampirism.  The crowd couldn’t listen anymopre.  He turned their stomachs.  John even records that his own disciples started complaining about this teaching and some did not believe.  This is a hard teaching.

                Jesus wants you to eat and not be hungry.  But he wants more than that for you.  He wants you to receive his very body and blood.  He comes to us in communion.  John doesn’t have the traditional Last supper story.  This is his Last supper story.  Jesus came to give you life to the fullest.  That doesn’t mean a full belly.  A full life doesn’t mean that you obey the rules. A full life doesn’t mean that life is a picnic.   It mean a full relationship with the Father through the Son.  Jesus gave all of himself for you.   He didn’t just give you wise stories to eat up.  He didn’t just give you clever parables to consume.  He gave you himself.

                The faith is not about accessing the gifts from God.  It is gross to say that I’m a Christian so I can go to heaven.  That’s like saying I had kids so they would take care of me in my old age.  That’s disgusting.

He gives himself to you not so you will love him.  He does it because that is who he is.  God is by nature a generous being.  He creates because wants to give to his creation.  He comes to earth as a baby so that he can save his creation.  He allows his flesh to be torn up by the Romans so he can save them.  This world chewed him up and spit him out but that was by design.  So that we could receive him.

He wants us to receive him, not just at the communion rail.  He gives himself to you every day.  There is another way in which we talk about eating someone.  Have you ever seen someone play with a baby and said, “I love you so much I just want to eat you up!” ?  We aren’t shocked when we hear someone say that?  We know that the person loves that baby so much that they don’t know what to do with it.  They want to make the baby a part of them.  Here’s a twist.  What if I told you, “ Jesus loves you so much, he just wants to eat you up.”

John 5: I am Listening

Pastor Scott Jonas

1/7/18

John 5

I am Listening

We continue through the Gospel of John, so turn to John chapter 5.  In  John 4, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. It was an encounter between a woman who had needs...and Jesus who met her needs.  It was a gift...He offers to all who asks and the results are “Blessing"! This morning we begin in chapter 5 with verses 1-17.

Imagine the testimony of that healed man. Here is a man who was an invalid for 38 years. He was seemingly picked out randomly by Jesus. All the man had to do is answer “yes” when Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” Suddenly, because of the mercy of Jesus, the man has a new life. He

can walk. He can work and stop begging. He can be a productive member of society. He has the type of testimony that is impressive. He was weak and broken but Jesus saved him and restored him to full health.

We tend to do that with testimonies. We are drawn towards the ones in which someone is lost and then found. Someone who was a drunk, found Jesus and then became sober. We want to see Jesus answer a prayer completely and instantly right before our very eyes.  But this man, whose name we do not know, was not the only broken man at the pool that day. This pool of Bethzatha drew people to its healing waters.

Modern people know that natural spring water has limited health benefits, but these people believed in something bigger. The rumor was that an angel stirred the pool. Whenever bubbles rose up in the spring that the first man to enter them would be healed. Verse 3 says, “In these lay a multitude of the blind, lame and paralyzed.” They all came to the pool with the hopes of being healed.

Some probably were superstitious pagans, putting their hope in a story.  Others had no faith, they just wanted to try anything. But maybe there was a faithful Jew there that day who had been praying for healing. Jesus picked just one to be healed and it wasn’t him. What about that guy? What about us when we pray for healing and it doesn’t happen the way we ask? What about us?

I had coffee with a friend one day and he asked me the question, “what’s the purpose of prayer? Is it about trying to change the mind of God or what?” I got kind of excited. My eyes widened. I puckered my lips. Because these are the types of situations pastors love. When a believer asks a faithful question and we get to unravel the answer with them.

My friend brought up Abraham. Remember when God told him that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great sin towards other people. Abraham spoke to God, in other words “prayed”, and asked God to change his mind. What if Abraham found 50 righteous people? Would God spare the city? What about 40? 30? 20? 10? (abraham sounded like how my daughter used to negotiate her bedtime) Finally God agreed that if Abraham found 10 righteous people then God would not destroy the city. My friend asked, “Is God changing ‘his mind?”

The short answer is “No.” God knew that there was not a single righteous person in Sodom. It was full of murderers, rapists and those who take advantage of the weak. They would have robbed or done worse to beggars like those in Jesus’ time. But God went through this conversation because He wanted Abraham to see this for himself. Abraham could not find a righteous man. He finally had to admit that God was right and that He knew what he was doing. Someone once asked C.S. Lewis why he prays and he said,

“I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray

because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It

doesn’t change God- it changes me.”

We ask why does God answer some prayers and not others? The path to unraveling the answer is in chapter 5 verses 18-30. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.  19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[e] does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who

sent me.

Jesus reveals that the reason he knows so much is because he watches his father. He copies his father. He obeys his father. I don’t know if you know this but John is the only Gospel with no parables. The word parable is not in John. The stories are absent as well. No good samaritan. No Sower. No prodigal son. No lost sheep. But we just read what some call a pseudo parable. It doesn’t teach through a story like a parable, but it does give an image. The image of a son who is the apprentice of a father. He learns at the FAther’s feet, not unlike Jesus probably did from his earthly father Joseph the carpenter. You watch and imitate. The father has all of the knowledge and wisdom which is passed down

lovingly to the son so that someday it can be passed down to his children.

In this image of apprenticeship, the son may not want to follow his father’s ways. He may not want to get up early and work hard. But the father wants a good life for his heir. The father will teach everything he knows to his son. That’s what loving father’s do. Jesus came not to be a carpenter but to share God’s will. But first he has to bend his will to the Father. Jesus said, “I seek not my will but the will of he who sent me.”

Let’s talk a little about what the words “Will of God” mean?  Jesus told us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What does the Bible mean by “thy will be done.?” The greek words for “will” are “thelema” and “boulema.” They have three different meanings based on context. Let’s look at them. The first meaning of “will of God” is the sovereign, efcacious will of God. RC Sproul says, “When the Bible speaks of the will of God in this sense, it is describing the will that causes whatever He decrees to come to pass.” So on Christmas day I preached on “Let there be light.” That was God’s sovereign will. He wanted light to be created and he made it happen. God spoke and the lights came on. Likewise, Jesus commands Lazarus to rise from the dead and that command was efcacious. Lazarus couldn’t help but obey instantly and immediately just as the stars obeyed the Father.

The Second meaning of the will of God is what is called the perceptive will of God. A precept is a law or command. God commands us to “pray.” That is his law. That is his will. We can disobey this command, yet it is still his will. The same goes for every law in the Bible. He wants it to happen but he allows us the freedom to disobey him. The people of Sodom disobeyed the law of God so they disobeyed the will of God in this sense.

The third meaning of the will of God is what pleases God. The bible says that that it pleases God that all people be saved. It does not please God that people are far from him. Yet, some have turned away from God. What pleases God is the third aspect of God’s will. Jesus says in John Chapter 5 that “I seek not my will but the will of him who sent me.” That means that when Jesus came as a human, he had to bend his will to the father’s.  Jesus bent his sovereign will. Jesus bent his perceptive will. Jesus bent his pleasing will. It was not about what Jesus would allow to happen; it was about what the Father allowed to happen. It was not about Jesus’ law but about the Father’s law. It was not about what pleased Jesus but what pleased the father.

When Jesus was in the Garden before his death, he pleaded for the father to take this cup from him. Jesus was not pleased to die on the cross. The father was not pleased either. But it was the Father’s sovereign will so that all of us could be saved. When we pray, we are bending our will towards God’s will. God has a plan; we have a plan. Our plan has to give way to the Father’s. We know what

pleases us but we need to bend that to what pleases the Father. 

A year ago a friend of ours in her 40s had a brain anuerism. We prayed for healing.

Just like the friend’s of the blind and lame in Jesus’ day. But we knew that that might not be God’s will. It pleases him to bring healing but that full healing may not come until the final day. We prayed that it would happen completely now. But we recognized that our will needs to bend to the FAther’s will. He has a plan. He gave us his will through the Bible so that we may know him. It pleases him to hear our prayers. So we pray because we pray because we can’t help ourselves. We pray because We’re helpless. We pray because the need flows out of us all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God it changes us.”