tran(t)s-'fȯrm

My very wise friend Melody once told me that the greatest evidence of Jesus Christ as Savior was a changed life.

I couldn't agree more with that statement.

I recently had the opportunity to dialogue with a dear friend about their spiritual journey and sorta listened to them unpack their story. We are still getting to know each other, but we knew all too well that we had A LOT in common and had battled some of the very same demons throughout much of our young lives.

I listened intently to the unveiling of rather broken days; days of despair and hopelessness, days struggling to even know who the person was staring back at them in mirror, days of wondering where God had gone and why He had abandoned them. Where comparison and thoughts of not being enough rotted their flesh and physically ate away at strong bones....

Words such as "spent," "strung-out," "empty," "forgotten," "misunderstood," and "monster" were used to describe an old state of being.

and as I listened, I was confronted the resounding echo of my very spoken words, used to describe the way I used to feel about myself.

I have to admit, some parts were challenging to listen to... only because I knew all too well the heartaches that this person felt... and in so many ways, I was pained due to the inability to never understand or sympathize with what this beautiful person had seen and been through...

Transform: \tran(t)s-ˈfȯrm\

 a : to change in composition or structure

b : to change the outward form or appearance ofc : to change in character or condition 

But the gleaming truth in all of this, was the person sitting across from me was not the person in the story. The person in front of me was the visual representation of God's restoration. The person speaking to me was a culmination of molding and bending and reshaping and restructuring all by the miraculous Hands of God. The result? A completely transformed individual. Someone that you could say, would be unrecognizable compared to their old self.

1 Samuel 10:6
The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.


2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


& then...
Zephaniah 3:17 
The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One,
will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.


We both discussed feelings of lost time. If when we looked back on such a dark place in our lives, did we feel as though we had wasted so much time that we could never have back? 


We did. 


But we both chuckled when we agreed there was no other means by which our transformation occurred. That every single broken moment was used by Jesus to shape us into the people that we are today.

wow. according to us, a life without Jesus, is pretty ugly. 

and because of such a radical transformation, it is all the more evidence that Jesus has shown up. Has healed. Restored. and now is walking alongside, of us everyday. So that we will never have to know a life without Him again.

"We will overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and word of our testimony."

Our lives are meant to demonstrate the power of a living God. we are meant to communicate to the rest of the world ( yes the world ) what miraculous transformation that has occurred in our lives because of HIM. So that those who are in darkness might have a life of light. 

I have no idea what your story is. You may not even know your story yet. But here is a real truth. The Lord of the world is actively seeking your life right now. He is hoping that you will take notice of His subtle, yet persistent touch. And that you will chose to allow Him to mend and restore and reshape your life for a purpose larger than you could ever fathom. 

& once you are found in that... that you would be brave enough to share your testimony, in whatever way you can. The thing that will never cease to amaze me, is that our Great Lord, wants to use us, to work through us. 

Your story can be a part of the greatest story of this age. And every age. And any age that will come. 

"The greatest evidence of Jesus Christ as Savior, is a changed life."

-& so it is. 

For the honor of the Savior, let the Cross be lifted high. The great exchange of love & grace, came down, to give us life.