HE CHANGED ME!

 

HE CHANGED ME!

Acts 20:24 But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love. NLT

The Apostle Paul understood what life was all about. For him, the only thing that mattered was his telling others about Jesus. He had to do other things, but everything revolved around his passion for Christ. Paul was so passionate about Christ because he knew from personal experience what life was like without Christ and what a difference Jesus had made in him. The difference was so profound and deep that he couldn’t do anything else with his life.

I wonder if one of the reasons why so many of us are not equally driven to tell others about Christ is because we haven’t had the life-changing experience Paul had. Paul was shaken to the very core of his being by Christ. The Lord changed him from being a self-driven, passionate hater of the Church religious zeolot steeped in tradition, to a Christ-driven lover of the Church. Paul was not the same man after his encounter with Christ. He thought differently about things and he acted differently.

For far too many of us, we don’t think or act too much differently after we accept Christ as our Savior as we did before we met Him. We seem to be content to go on doing what we want to do. We don’t want to consider doing anything radically different. We don’t have the passion that Paul had for Christ or the lost who need to know Him. Why? How can we say Jesus is our Savior and Lord when nothing much has changed in us?

We need to learn to appreciate what the Lord has and is doing in us. We need to capture the wonder of His touch. We need to think more about the difference Christ does make in our lives. We need to let go of our hold on us and let the Lord take control. We need to get serious about what it means to have Jesus in our hearts.

Jesus does radically change us. He cannot be in us and not change us. He never quits changing us. He changes us and gives us a deep passion for those who don’t have the same heart for Him as we do. Sharing our faith with others becomes the driving force in all of our living. Let Jesus have His way with you and “He changed me!” will be your rallying cry.