Befores and Afters

Apr 06 2016 Befores and Afters

 Anakainosiß (greek): A renewal, renovation,

complete change for the better

Don’t you love before-and-afters? How about those TV shows where they rapidly renovate a house (oh, what a miracle could be done with mine!) or a person’s body (no comment)? It’s amazing and delightful to see the results. Dramatic.

With amazement and delight, I’ve seen God radically and rapidly change a few people I’ve known. You, too, have seen this: the kind of change where you know it’s an “only God!” thing. A friend stopped using meth after giving His life to Jesus and never used it again.  Another acquaintance returned to her husband and children after years of adultery, never looking back. Dramatic.

Do you have a radical, rapid before and after story?

I don’t, and many of us don’t. Instead, our soul renovations happen slowly, not dramatically, like a gradual drip filling a tub.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:

The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

The Apostle Paul tells us that anyone in Christ is a new creation. Anyone. Even if it doesn’t look like a dramatic one, a renovation has indeed occurred because of the cross.

Because of the cross, we are reborn, set right, and washed clean, yet outwardly, we look the same. The before and after occur in our hearts as God regenerates us and presents us with our ticket to eternity.

Because of the cross, God sees us as new and perfectly renovated. As we respond to the gift of grace, we change (however slowly) our hearts, thoughts, actions, and perspectives.

Often, the familiar tune of discouragement plays as I look at the restoration still needing to take place in me. I grow weary as I measure the snail’s pace of progress. Then I pause, recalling that change has occurred over these years of walking with God. My after is progressing, however imperfectly. I think of the cross, how God views me: perfectly renovated.

Celebrate your own Befores and Afters this spring. As you appreciate God’s handiwork in creation, remember, my friend, that you, too, are His handiwork being made new.

And honestly, the icing on my renovation cake would be having a Home TV program show up here at Saatzerville to work a miracle (she thinks as she glances at the water-spotted ceiling and peeling paint).

Reflect:

~Looking back on your renovation, how has God changed you? How are you different in your perspective, actions, and thoughts?

~In what area is He currently renewing you?

~Thank Him for even the most minor changes. The baby steps.

~Thank Him for the Cross, your ticket to eternity.

~Renew yourself yet again, dedicating yourself to your Saviour.