Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
There’s change … and THERE’S CHANGE! Perhaps you’ve lived with a person who liked rearranging the furniture and decor. Same furniture and pictures – just different places. Nice, but not much happened. Unless you get up in the middle of the night and smack your shin on the newly placed coffee table. But, in reality, not much really happened here.
On the other hand, while waiting for a doctor in the waiting room, I often see HGTV remodeling shows. A family bought an old house, but it wasn’t exactly what they desired. The exterior was perfect, but the interior was completely wrong. In came sledgehammers, power tools, and a lot of workers – out went walls, carpeting, and furniture. They eliminated and repainted rooms. They added windows and wall openings. The house was transformed to conform to the new owner’s desires.
In His Word today, God is talking about this second kind of change. In our baptisms, He has taken ownership of us and the Holy Spirit has moved in. He doesn’t like what He sees in our dark, sin-filled minds and souls. So, God brings in the power tools of His Word and the Holy Spirit goes to work. (Isaiah 51:1-2) From the moment of our justification in baptism, He begins conforming us to His will. In this lifelong process, called sanctification, the Holy Spirit transforms us in fundamental ways that show up in the way we think and act toward each other and, most importantly, toward God our Father. Fundamentally changed into living sacrifices, God’s Word and the Holy Spirit moves us to serve God and His people with the gifts He has given us.
God has given each of us special gifts to actively use in His church and His creation. (Romans 12:4-8) Let us trust the Holy Spirit, having transformed us, to guide us in the use of these gifts. In this way, all of us are the hands and feet of Jesus, loving and serving God and our neighbor in accordance with God’s mercy and grace.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim