"That's just who I am. It's too late to change now." And with that, she dismissed hope and possibility; convinced that her past was the prologue to her future. But, she is wrong, dead wrong! Betty, (not her real name) has a story some would call colorful, others would more honestly call sinful. For a decade she's done what she wanted to do without much consideration of what it was costing all the people in her life. An intervention staged by her family and friends brought her to tears, and made her see her actions as others saw them. She likes to think she's just 'having fun.' But the circle of friends who confronted her, told her that her life of 'fun' was actually slow suicide- a sure course to loneliness, regret, and early death. Despite that, she will not even hope for change for she believes that who she is is unchangeable. She prefers her present rut to the challenge of becoming a new person.
Many people are like Betty, knowing that life ought to be different, knowing that they are hurting others, and realizing that they are headed for more pain. And yet, they plunge ahead because they cannot see an alternative to the way they are living. Some even know that they are not pleasing God, but they refuse to turn to Him. I am describing you? Have you made peace with some habit, some pattern in life, that is destructive? Are you making excuses for what you do? Are you, Believer, living far below your heritage as a child of God - because you are fearful of change?
God has made an intervention on your behalf. But unlike the interventions that are designed to make a person see their sins clearly, God has a different strategy to draw us to change. He does not just hold up a mirror to show us our past, He paints a picture of possibilities that exist if we will allow Him to begin the process of transformation through the salvation that is provided in Jesus Christ and the power that the Holy Spirit brings to us when He takes up residence in our lives!! Even more than a clear picture of yesterday, we need a vision of tomorrow that draws us to the Lord and His purpose for our lives, don't we? Proverbs 29:18 tells us that "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (KJV) In The Message, that passage reads - "If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed." (Proverbs 29:18, The Message)
Remember Saul who became Paul? In his early years as a Pharisee, he hated Believers in Christ and worked to destroy the Gospel message and those who followed Jesus. But God, in amazing grace, met him on the road to Damascus. Saul believed that day and was changed. The transformation was so profound, he even took a new name! Had he lived in perpetual regret, he might have faded into obscurity, making tents in some Roman town, sorrowful 'til death for his persecution of those who loved the Lord. But, he didn't do that. Why? He tells us. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)
Paul was not looking back with regret, he was looking ahead in faith. That's the road to transformation!
Yes, we learn from the past - both positively and negatively. We understand that it cannot be erased here on this earth, but we need not let it determine our future. "In Christ, we become a new creation!" And don't let yourself think that is just a 'once and done deal' either. The transformation is ongoing. We grow deeper in the things of the Lord as He shows us new challenges, new places for service, and presents us with new opportunities.
Let's grow on!
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Father, I confess that change is difficult.
In the familiar there is a certain comfort.
I slide easily back into the habits and patterns of my past,
even when they are not pleasing in Your eyes.
So, I pray, first - forgive me, in Jesus' Name.
Wash me clean.
And, I ask for a vision of a new me.
Let me see a picture of the kind of person You want me to be,
and give me faith to own that vision,
to engage myself in the process of 'becoming...' -
an ongoing transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
I pray this in His holy Name. Amen.
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