Lynn Jones: We all need some alterations
By Lynn Jones
In one of his books, Robert Fulghum wrote, “There’s a tailor shop near home that has this sign in the window. It says, ‘Alterations and repairs for men and women.’” Fulghum came walking down the sidewalk one day and said to the tailor who was standing in the doorway of the shop, “I’d like to get altered and repaired.” Fulghum said, “She looked at me cautiously, went inside, and closed the door.”
I wish it were easier to make some alterations to myself. I don’t know who made the decisions about what the average length of men’s shirt sleeves or neck sizes should be, but they did not have me in mind when they made those decisions. I often wind up having alterations made to my clothes rather than to myself because making alterations to the clothes is easier than making alterations to myself.
The Bible records some amazing stories of how God altered the lives of people. When James and John became members of the twelve disciples who followed Jesus, they stood in need of a change in their lives. They had quick tempers. When a Samaritan village refused to sell food to Jesus and the disciples, James and John suggested that Jesus should call down fire from heaven and destroy the village. Jesus called the two brothers, “the sons of thunder,” because of the way their anger flashed and their temper rumbled (Mark 3:17). Jesus did not give up on them, however. As He continued to deal with them, they were slowly altered. People have been so impressed by the way John wrote about love in his books in the New Testament that he has become known as “the apostle of love.”
Many other lives were altered by God. Paul was transformed from being the persecutor of the church to becoming the great preacher of the gospel and the founder of churches. John Mark was changed from a young man who deserted Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey to being a person of such stability that he wrote the Gospel of Mark.
Morton Kelsey once stood before a giant redwood tree that had celebrated 3,500 birthdays. He noted that the tree stands nearly 300 feet high and is 100 feet around. It is 30 feet in diameter. But he noted, “Here is the most amazing fact: it is still growing! Each year it adds 500 more board feet to its trunk.” The size and shape of the tree are experiencing ongoing alterations. In the same way, we need to experience continuing alterations. Christ is at work through His church to bring about these kinds of changes in our lives. There are many metaphors and similes for the church. Let me suggest another one. The church is “The Alteration Shop.” God is at work in the big business of altering our lives.
