One of the most effective tools in the world of advertising is the use of "before and after" images. Have a diet product that you want to promote? Nothing will boost sales more than a picture of someone before they used your product, and a picture of them, 45 pounds lighter, after they've used your product. Have a sure-fire way to turn ordinary Joes and Janes into millionaires? Nothing will have your tapes or books or training manuals flying off the shelves faster than the personal testimony of Joe or Jane before and after they became wealthy. Television is full of "before and after" images that run the gamut from equipment that sculpts our bodies, to plastic surgery, to home makeovers. And, I don't mean to imply that these before and after stories are merely hype. I hear wonderful before and after stories from members of this very congregation who endure daily pain before a hip or knee replacement surgery and who live pain free afterwards. Our lives are full of "before and after" stories, stories that mark major turning points—some good, some difficult and painful, but all of them milestones that shape who we are.

The writer of the book of Ephesians is calling our attention to significant "before and after" images in the life of faith. Like other important "before and after" moments in our lives, these events alter us dramatically. Our identity is changed. Our relationships are changed. Our purpose is changed. We are not the same people Before Christ as we are After Christ, and as a result, we will not experience life the same. Look at our Scripture passage: before Christ, we were alone, without Christ, aliens who were separated from God's people, strangers to God's covenants, meaning that we were ignorant of God's promises; we had no hope because we were without God. We were far off, distant and exiled from God; we were divided against and hostile to the people and purposes of God. In the words of The Message, before Christ, we were outsiders.

By contrast, look at who we are "after Christ." Because of Christ, we are brought near to God. We experience reconciliation. We are joined together in peace with those from whom we were formally alienated. We are citizens, saints, and members of the household of God. We have access to God through the Spirit. We are gathered into the life of faith, built upon the spiritual heritage of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus giving himself as the cornerstone so that we might know him and have his peace. We are now insiders, part of God's family and the family of faith through the ages.

Before Christ, after Christ. The difference could not be more clear, and the writer of Ephesians carefully and vividly describes these two starkly divergent realities so that we will absorb the full impact of the changes that have been wrought in our lives.

When we turn on the television or open a magazine and see the before and after pictures of someone who has lost a significant amount of weight, or when we hear the before and after stories from someone who has undergone heart bypass surgery that has added years of quality living to their lives, we are apt to focus on the amazing results. In the case of Madison Avenue advertising, that is precisely what ad agents want us to focus on. Look how thin you can be! See how easy it is to transform your dated, avocado and gold, 1960's kitchen to a stainless steal wonder of the twenty-first century. You, too, can look 20 years younger with this age-defying plastic surgery! But, if you've experienced a serious health concern, with medical procedures and rehabilitation or you've spent the last two years being careful about what you eat and sticking with a rigorous exercise regimen, you know that before and after stories are not without pain, sacrifice, self-discipline, and commitment to a significant goal.

Did you notice that our text this morning recognizes that fact as well? In the life of faith, we are not changed from outsiders to insiders without a cost. We are not changed from aliens and strangers of God to sons and daughters without pain and sacrifice. But, there is a huge difference in what occurs in the life of faith and what occurs in our temporal lives. If we are going to recover from bypass surgery or get in shape or renovate our house or emotionally recover from a divorce or the death of a loved one, who is going to do the hard, long work associated with those transformations? We are. We are going to make the financial investment. We are going to choose to be at the gym at 5:30 in the morning. We are going to do what the physical therapist tells us to do, even though it hurts. We are going to suffer through the grieving process.

But, in the case of us knowing God, of being brought into covenant with our Maker, of being made men and women of faith rather than people who are alienated from God—who bears the cost for that? Who endures the pain, who commits himself to the goal of bridging the gap between us and God, who longs to give us an "after" so that we are not perpetually trapped in our "before" stories? It's not us. It's Jesus. Let's go back to the text. Who changes us from people of the flesh to people of the Spirit? It's Jesus. Whose blood has the power to bring us to God? It's Jesus. Who lays aside his life in order to reconcile ALL to the Father? It's Jesus. Who gives us access to God through the Spirit? It's Jesus. We have a before and an after story to tell not because of what we have done or can do to know to God, but ONLY because of what Christ has done on our behalf. Unlike the rehabilitation and recovery that we affect, trying hard, even with great commitment and sacrifice and pain cannot bring us to God. Doing more, giving more, working longer or harder or faster cannot and will not give us a place in God's family, will not turn our "before" into "after." It is only in relationship with Jesus Christ and resting in his work, his sacrifice, that our lives are transformed.

The writer of Ephesians is reminding 1st century Christians that it is God's initiative towards us that transforms our lives. The 21st century Church continues to recognize that truth every time we perform the sacrament of baptism. Baptism is a visible sign that affirms our belief that God's grace is active in us even before we can act or speak for ourselves. Baptism seals us into the life of Christ and into the body of Christ, his Church. Ephesians celebrates the body of Christ as that which unites us and draws us together as family. Baptism is celebrated as that which unites the people of God with each other and with the church of every time and place. Just as Ephesians speaks of the end of separation because we are joined together in Christ, our Directory for Worship calls for an end to separation through the act of baptism. In 1st century language, barriers of circumcision and the law are to be eliminated. In 21st century language, "barriers of race, gender, status, and age are to be transcended. Barriers of nationality, history, and practice are to be overcome."

But what does all this mean? What significance does it have for us in the church today? The answer is: a lot. Let me give you just one example with far reaching consequences. George Barna leads a marketing research company that has specialized in research for the church and Christian ministries for the past 30 years. Barna and his group discovered that by age 9, a child's moral foundation is largely set; by age 13, a child's spiritual identity is in place and his/her religious belief system will change very little into adulthood. While those two findings did not particularly surprise me, this one shocked me: for children who do not have a faith relationship with God by age 13, only 4 percent will embrace faith in Jesus Christ between ages 13 and 18, and the number increases only slightly to 6 percent for all people older than 18.

What do these numbers tell us? They tell us that by far, our best window of opportunity to instill faith in the next generation and to set them upon a path of having a dynamic relationship with God is when they are young. If our children and grandchildren, our neighbors, and our friends are to have their identity grounded in Jesus and not in the culture and if they are to know the peace that comes from being a citizen, a saint, and a son or daughter in God's household, we must take our baptism vows as a congregation seriously. We must start early to fulfill our vow to "guide and nurture those who come for baptism with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and be a faithful member of this church." If we don't show them what a life "after Christ" looks like, who will?

George Barna was not only shocked by the findings of his own research, but found it to be so compelling that he dramatically realigned his own ministry priorities to focus on children. Here at Fairfax Pres the purpose of our Children's Ministry is to develop lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ—disciples who begin in childhood and continue into adulthood to live fully into their identity as "after Christ" people. Exciting things are happening because God's Spirit is working and moving in the Children's Ministry. Our teachers are working in teams that allow them to teach two Sundays on, two Sundays off throughout the year. We are using curriculum that gives our children a solid Biblical foundation. We are meeting together in small groups to better train and equip our teachers, to nurture their faith, and to build spiritual friendship among them. It is out of their deep spiritual wells that our children will best be taught and loved. Our children's ministry is growing, and of course, with growth comes growing pains. We need to expand the number of Sunday school classes this fall, and that means we need additional teachers. There are opportunities to worship with our children in Godly Play and to help coordinate the Sunday school program. God is calling some of us to share our before and after stories in these ways. Could it be you?

Before Christ. After Christ. We each have a story to tell of God's grace, initiated in love towards us. We, who once were estranged from God, far off, outside the community of faith, have been made members of the God's household through the person of Jesus Christ. Let us endeavor together to tell our stories of who we are After Christ.