Hope of a Transformed Life If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17–18 “People never change. They just become more of who they really are.” That isn’t just an Internet meme. It’s a cultural cliché that many people accept as established fact: Liars will always lie; cheaters will always cheat; self-centered individuals will never stop looking out for number one. But if you buy into this thinking—if you accept the idea that people never change and therefore you’ll never change—then you’re embracing a surefire formula for utter hopelessness about your future. What’s the point in even trying to change? It’s all futile. At best, your efforts will get your hopes up only to have them dashed. Why hold out hope for what’s not even possible? But what does God’s Word say? Does it accept the fatalistic determinism embraced by so much of our culture? Thankfully, no. Here’s what Paul said in Romans 6:17, 22: “Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. . . . Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Yes, God is still in the business of transforming lives, and that fact ought to give you hope for what he can do in your life as well. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment