We may appear the same....well, besides the big 80's hair...but God has changed us both on the inside for His glory.
I know people that I went to high school with that look the same, well besides a wrinkle here and there and a grey hair or two, but they are also totally different.
The ones I’m thinking of were NOT the most like to become preachers, missionaries, or to marry pastors, but…God is a mighty God, and that is exactly what He did to these individuals. Those former party goers had at some point in their lives been convicted, repented, and changed. God got a hold of them and changed them for His glory.
When I first heard about what had become of my former school mates, I was shocked, maybe even had a giggle and thought “You’ve got to be kiddin’ me?” But praise God their lives were changed. The influence they have on the people they come in contact with is such a blessing.
Today when I read about the blind man in John 9 and the response of those who saw him, reminded me of how lives are changed daily for God’s glory.
Verses 8 and 9 say:
Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?”
Others said, “It’s him all right!”
But others objected, “It’s not the same man at all. It just looks like him.”
He said, “It’s me, the very one.”
Whether lives have been changed from a physical ailment or a life of sin, the person may appear the same on the outside, but God made them new on the inside.
He’s pretty cool at doing this. God is in the changing lives business.
People in biblical times and present day “buzz” when they notice something different about someone. I think that’s the way God wants it. Chat it up for His glory. And if people want to talk and wonder if you are the same person who they thought you were by appearance, speak up and say, “Yep, it’s me. But let me tell you about the new me.”
I may not have a “wow” testimony, like some of my former classmates have, but God has changed my life for the better. He is still working on me every day. I welcome Him to put on His hard hat and construct me to be the woman He desires me to be.
Blessings to y’all.
June 1