His name was George. He had been dishonorably discharged from the Marines. His addiction to alcohol and sinful living would have caused many to dismiss him as a hopeless case. Then he met Brenda and through her he met Jesus. His life was changed eternally by Christ. They devoted their lives working with those in the local jails and hundreds were changed, not by them, but by the Jesus they met through them. On a recent Answering Macedonia Calls trip, I met a Christian whose life was transformed by the teaching of George, who is now dead, but who, before his death, taught this man by preaching and serving also as an elder.
Then there is Ronnie. He lived in Palm Beach County and was a hard worker. He was seen by the world as successful until drugs came into his life. When the deputy came to arrest him, he took the deputy’s gun and demanded more drugs be brought to him. Needless to say he was incarcerated in prison. Then he met Frank and through him met Jesus. After his release, he came to Palm Beach Lakes and the first time he ever partook of the Lord’s Supper was here. He later married Jeanie, a member of this congregation, and they have spent the last twenty years conducting an outstanding program in Alabama with facilities for about twenty addicts spending up to two years there in the recovery program.
This article is not about George and Brenda. It is not about Ronnie and Jeanie. It is about the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus. It could have begun by saying, “His name was Saul and he was seen by many as one having a great future. That future was totally changed, and he no longer was killing Christians after literally meeting Jesus. He became a Christian through Ananias.” This article is not about Ananias, it is about the transformation Christ can bring in a person’s life.
This article is about you! It is about those we know to whom that same Jesus said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). Addicts like George and Ronnie needed transformation, but so does a devotedly religious Saul, who we know better as Paul. Wherever we are and how others see us, we must meet Jesus and let Him eternally change us!
It is a renewal that comes, as the Scripture says, by a renewal of our minds. We must quit letting the world set our values, letting human wisdom and feelings decide the course of our lives. We are what we think (Prov. 23:7), and when we meet Jesus, we change the way we think. We never stop being transformed. “Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). This article is about me. It is about you. It is about personally changing every day, transforming ourselves into His image.
-Dan Jenkins
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