I was sitting at my desk one day, doing my normal work stuff, and the phrase,”first life, then change,” popped into my mind. Most thoughts I have during a day race through my head and then quickly disappear. This one stuck. It turned out to be one of those “aha” moments for me.
First life, then change is the process God works in our lives.
So many of us short circuit the process. We leave the life part out of the equation, and focus merely on the change we hope and pray God can bring to our lives. In other words, we view Christianity as a self-improvement program. God is there to help us better our lives. At least that was the way I viewed Christianity. Like so many, I cried out to God time and time again for His help, but nothing changed. If anything, my feeble efforts made matters worse. I didn’t know that I needed life.
However, Scripture is very clear. I was dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1). Not just me, you too were dead in sin. This is the spiritual condition that was passed on to you by your mom and dad. This ancestry trail traces back to Adam and Eve. They forfeited spiritual life in exchange for the chance to be like God. The decision plunged them and all of mankind into the realm of sin and death.
We hear the echoes of this reality at times. We sense deep down that something is terribly wrong, or feel emptiness inside, or experience an unexplained restlessness. All of these are symptoms of spiritual death. Some ignore these indicators. Others charge out to find that one thing to fill the void. But money, power, prestige, fame or anything else the world may offer are never enough. They leave us still wanting. Death needs to be turned to life.
Calvin spent much of his life trying to fill the emptiness of his heart. He had tried almost everything imaginable, but nothing worked. He turned to drugs and alcohol to mask the underlying pain and emptiness. Even then, he could hear the echoes. Something was wrong. All his prayers seemed to go unanswered. His struggle to change led him to a point of desperation. He turned on his radio hoping to find answers. Scanning the dial, he landed on the station that airs our program in his area. Something caught his attention. He picked up his phone and called our toll-free number.
You could hear the weariness in his voice. “I’ve tried to do the right things. I pray for God’s help night and day, but I keep going back to my old ways. Is there hope?”
I had the privilege of sharing with Calvin God’s process, first life, then change. It struck a chord with him. Thousands listened in as he expressed his heart of faith through prayer. That day, God raised Calvin spiritually so that he could live in the newness of life. I could hear the power of what was happening in his voice. Calvin, just minutes before was dead in sin. But now he was alive in Christ.
The offer of the Gospel is life. Jesus made this abundantly clear throughout His teaching ministry. Listen to His words: I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Once we are alive in Him, the change begins.
Tag: Change
My Favorite Bible Passages — #1
For the next several weeks, I will be sharing my favorite Bible passages. These are the places in the Bible I return to time and time again for comfort, reassurance or fresh insight.
My favorite passage is in the book of Colossians. (It is hard to pick a favorite, I know, but if I had to, this one would be it.) Here it is.
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:9-15 (NIV)
Here are the reasons this passage tops my list of favorites.
- It starts with Christ and ends with Christ. In six verses, Paul explains who Jesus is and the meaning of His death, burial and resurrection.
- I learned that my real problem was spiritual death, and that something had to happen to me before change could take place in my life. I had tried to be God’s guy, but my efforts came up woefully short.
- In the plainest language possible, it states that all my sins have been forgiven.
- It also tells me that the law of sin and death has been taken away.
- It declares that my enemy was defeated and disarmed through Christ’s triumphant victory at the cross.
- It tells me that I am complete, or have fullness, in Jesus Christ.
Some thirty years ago is when this passage hit my heart. I was confused about Christianity, and why I was such a colossal failure as far as my Christian life was concerned. Paul’s straight forward words flipped a switch in my understanding. I felt forgiven and that there was hope for me. The weight of trying to do it on my own was lifted. But more than anything, I felt alive.
Perhaps you feel defeated in your Christian life, or that you are mired in guilt and shame. It could be that you sense an emptiness deep within your heart, or that something is just plain wrong with you. If so, read this passage carefully. Jesus knows where you are. Who He is and what He accomplished through His death, burial and resurrection can change who you are. This passage was the catalyst for me to look to Him. I pray it will be the same for you.