Tonight I sang at my friend Paige's church revival and listened to the visiting preacher talk about the story of Philemon and the need to express the love of Christ to everyone, especially non-Christians.
But something else was rolling around in my head. The pastor said something about the changes that happen when you become a Christian, how you become a different person.
The idea that hit me and hasn't left me since was that I don't ever want to stop being a different person. What I mean is that today I am a different person from who I was yesterday. This afternoon I was a different person from who I was this morning and now I am a different person than who I was this afternoon! I hope that continual change remains just that: continual.
This may seem confusing but hold on just a second. What I am trying to convey is that, in every moment, I hope and pray that I am getting closer and closer to God and understanding His will and with every step I take closer to my Heavenly Father, I feel changed. I am a different person now than yesterday because I have learned something new about my Lord today through study and through discussion with friends and ESPECIALLY through conversing with the Big Man Himself!
I know there may be days where the changes have more lag time between and other days where transformation in my heart (which will be endless until I am united perfectly with my Father in heaven) is spreading change in me like wildfire. But at the root of all of this is a scene in my head of an old couple talking about their high school reunion saying, "Well, Jenny just has that same fire for the Lord she used to have" or "Bill is just the same, God-fearing man he once was". I don't want that to be me! Not because I don't want to have Jenny's fire for the Lord or the God-fearing reputation of Bill but rather because after a long time I want people to be able to see the change that has (hopefully) been occurring on the inside during the many years they hadn't seen me: an increase in fire, more passion, more love, more Jesus! I want Jesus to be seen in my actions, in my lifestyle, in everything. I want old high school friends to see me in 49 years and say, "Wow, Hannah sure has even more fire for Christ now"or "That Hannah has grown so much in her relationship with Christ".
Now I want to make clear that I don't just want people to be able to say this to me... I WANT IT TO BE TRUE!!! In the next 49 years and beyond I want to learn everything I can about God and His love and His grace and His will and His sacrifice... I want to be stronger, humbler, meeker, better, more like Jesus. I want my heart to be continuously transformed to be more and more like the heart of my Maker and Savior. But not so that people can say that I am, but so that Father God would know that I am and be proud of me, so that people might catch a glimpse of God on earth through what He does in my life, through the transformation of my person and heart. In 49 years... I want to be a different person.
But something else was rolling around in my head. The pastor said something about the changes that happen when you become a Christian, how you become a different person.
The idea that hit me and hasn't left me since was that I don't ever want to stop being a different person. What I mean is that today I am a different person from who I was yesterday. This afternoon I was a different person from who I was this morning and now I am a different person than who I was this afternoon! I hope that continual change remains just that: continual.
This may seem confusing but hold on just a second. What I am trying to convey is that, in every moment, I hope and pray that I am getting closer and closer to God and understanding His will and with every step I take closer to my Heavenly Father, I feel changed. I am a different person now than yesterday because I have learned something new about my Lord today through study and through discussion with friends and ESPECIALLY through conversing with the Big Man Himself!
I know there may be days where the changes have more lag time between and other days where transformation in my heart (which will be endless until I am united perfectly with my Father in heaven) is spreading change in me like wildfire. But at the root of all of this is a scene in my head of an old couple talking about their high school reunion saying, "Well, Jenny just has that same fire for the Lord she used to have" or "Bill is just the same, God-fearing man he once was". I don't want that to be me! Not because I don't want to have Jenny's fire for the Lord or the God-fearing reputation of Bill but rather because after a long time I want people to be able to see the change that has (hopefully) been occurring on the inside during the many years they hadn't seen me: an increase in fire, more passion, more love, more Jesus! I want Jesus to be seen in my actions, in my lifestyle, in everything. I want old high school friends to see me in 49 years and say, "Wow, Hannah sure has even more fire for Christ now"or "That Hannah has grown so much in her relationship with Christ".
Now I want to make clear that I don't just want people to be able to say this to me... I WANT IT TO BE TRUE!!! In the next 49 years and beyond I want to learn everything I can about God and His love and His grace and His will and His sacrifice... I want to be stronger, humbler, meeker, better, more like Jesus. I want my heart to be continuously transformed to be more and more like the heart of my Maker and Savior. But not so that people can say that I am, but so that Father God would know that I am and be proud of me, so that people might catch a glimpse of God on earth through what He does in my life, through the transformation of my person and heart. In 49 years... I want to be a different person.
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