The transforming power of Christ

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  ~ 1 Peter 1:22-23

We all know what it means when we say our lives have been turned upside down. Sometimes events can occur that do it, and other times people in our lives do it. But the Lord does something no human can do alone; He turns our lives right side up! He gives us purpose and direction, a sense of wrong and right, and an all-out new way of living. This is what Paul means when he writes:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  ~ Corinthians 5:17

In plain, modern English, we'd say, "Out with the old, in with the new." He gives us a new life, a new desire to hold ourselves to a higher standard of living. We discard those parts of ourselves that are not wholesome, and we strive to be like Jesus Christ. He teaches us and shows us that there's a better way to live. We don't need to go out and get drunk or high, have sex, or be rich in order to feel fulfilled any more. If money is your god, you'll always need more money in order to feel okay. If sex is your god, you'll always need more sex. If cocaine is your god, you'll always need more cocaine. When does it end? When do you ever get to the point where you have enough drugs, sex, or money to make you happy as a person? Two minutes after the novelty wears off, you'll be out looking for more.

No, what we need is new life. One that is centered around the Lord and His purpose for us. Some people living in the fast lane may think that sounds pretty boring. Unfortunately, this view has become quite commonplace, and it happens when people become addicted to adrenaline rushes in order to feel okay. Loving God doesn't mean sitting in a church all the time reciting "thee's" and "thou's." You can still have excitement in your life, but it's of a more positive nature and it lasts far longer. With the peace God gives you, you are free to, and indeed receive much joy from, helping and ministering to those in greater need than yourself.

Often people make the mistake of saying, "Well, I've got my own problems. If I didn't have so much to worry about myself, maybe I'd be able to help somebody else." But the truth is, if you involve yourself in the Lord's work and have faith in Him, He will quiet your mind and help you iron out or deal with your problems. He pays you back with blessings a thousand times over, for your time and energy spent in ministry. This is not to say that all your problems will miraculously disappear. Sometimes His help just involves helping you to more effectively deal with a situation as it is. Either way, God brings peace of mind and a quietness to your soul that defies description. He may not always do things the way we might want Him to, but He will be there for us, helping us and giving us the strength to get through the rough spots.

When Jesus died for us, He paid the price for our shortcomings and sent the Holy Spirit to us for guidance. Because of His gift, the Holy Spirit lives within us, gently guiding us toward greater good.

As Christians, Christ is a powerful and driving force in our lives. His death provided for the forgiveness of all our faults and evils. The Lord has the power to overturn our lives and make them into something more beautiful than we ever imagined, if we'll only let Him. It is one thing to believe in Him and pray to Him; it is another thing entirely to be born again.

What Does It Mean To Be Born Again?

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."  ~ John 3:3-6

We can understand Nicodemus' confusion in this passage, as he struggles to understand the rebirth Jesus is talking about. As described by Scripture, spiritual rebirth follows certain steps. Even if we aren't aware of the exact process, God knows the way. He leads us gently through them to a new way of life. Because everyone is different, and because God's relationship with us is a personal one, each person will have a somewhat different relationship with Him. He knows the best way to communicate with each of us based on our personalities and experiences. Even so, the path more or less follows a basic course:

We realize that we've been attempting to run our lives all by ourselves, without His help and guidance.

We admit that, in doing so, we have been living our lives in ways not pleasing to Him.

We humbly ask for the Lord's forgiveness and healing.

We offer ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices, relinquishing control of our lives to Him. (This is not to say that we stop taking care of things, but that we let Him handle those things we as humans are incapable of doing anything about. We stop worrying about them and trying to control them ourselves, realizing that God is in control.) We ask for His guidance in our lives.

We promise the Lord that we will live a new life, rejecting and reforming those acts and personality traits that are not Christlike. We attempt to be like Jesus in every way, and although we are certain to miss the mark at times, we resolve to do the very best we can.

We voluntarily receive a water baptism as a sign of our new birth and commitment to the Lord.

Once we have been born again:

We promise the Lord that we will attempt to develop the fruits and gifts of the Spirit, and we ask Him for His help with this. We desire these qualities not out of a fear because we want to grow closer to Him, become more like him, and share the good news with others in ministry. We fall in love with Him!

We use those fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit that God has given us to help other people in need, with love and understanding.

As we fulfill the Lord's purpose in our lives, we find greater peace and joy as we grow in love and faith toward Him. We find that He knows the longings of our hearts, and as we work for Him, He fills and nurtures us.

Being "born again" doesn't mean we are given the right to judge anyone else. It doesn't mean we suddenly become perfect. It means we start over in our lives, doing things differently, allowing and inviting the Holy Spirit to bring guidance and help us make changes for the Lord. (And even though we may not realize it, these changes ultimately benefit us anyway, because God wants the best for us!) We know that the Spirit is at work because a person's life style will gradually start to change over time. Addictions, selfishness, greed, and other such things will slowly fall away as God replaces them with His lovingkindness. It may even take years for the changes to take hold, but we can observe that they are a work in progress, being molded like clay by the grandest Artist there ever was! What a blessing! And it's all bought and paid for by our Savior Jesus Christ.

He will transform our lives if we'll only let Him. I am only one of many who have been transformed, who have witnessed the awesome changes our awesome God can make in your life. We as Christians are to be "living letters" of the Bible, able to bring the Scriptures to a personal level by sharing our miraculous stories of growth and change. I am eager to share with anyone who will listen, the joy I have found and the wonderful, healthy changes that He has made in me. I don't need to do the things I used to do any more in order to try to feel complete. Now that my cup is full, as we say, "Pass it on!" Come and live your life "right side up!"

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  ~ 2 Corinthians 3:2-3