Miraculous Transformations
I have been following a segment on the Today show for a while about people that lost over 100 lbs simply through diet and exercise. Their stories of transformation are both amazing and inspirational, and you feel good for people who identified a problem in their life and worked to be different. A few years ago we were worried about the size 0’s in Hollywood who portrayed a body image that was hardly attainable. Now we seem to have moved more towards health than Hollywood. Whether it’s episodes of the Biggest Loser, new workout routines, or a better diet, there are constant reminders out there that if you’re overweight and unhappy, you don’t have to stay that way.
I wonder if Christians today worry more about heaviness than holiness? I have certainly made adjustments to my life over the years in order to maintain a certain level of fitness so that I can do simple things like running outside with my children or playing basketball with the teenagers in our church. I hear fellow believers talk about adjustments they want to make or have made for their physical health, but what about our spiritual health? Jesus did the work of salvation on the cross, and His work alone grants us eternal life. But what about the remainder of our lives on this earth? Shouldn’t I strive to be in a closer walk with Jesus next week than I was during this one (I used to do everyday, but as a sinner I find that the line graph can move an awful lot between two days)?
2 Timothy 2:15-16, 21 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness … Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” It’s not the responsibility of the church or the pastor to bring you to conviction and spiritual transformation in your life. We present ourselves to God. When we find ungodliness in our lives, let us be diligent to cleanse ourselves from it so we can be useful to God who has good works in mind for us. Let us work to be different.