Live a Transformed Life
I was thinking about how to live after a beautiful Easter Sunday. I was in Sanford, N.C. with Carolyn. We took Carolyn’s mother, Ruby, to church. This was her first outing from the nursing home after surgery and rehab for a broken hip. I was sitting in church on Easter Day thinking about Carolyn’s father, who died a long time ago.
When Carolyn and I got married, I pastored three churches simultaneously. Often when we would visit her parents, I would be working on a sermon while Carolyn and her mother would go shopping. One day Carolyn’s father, Gene, came into the bedroom where I was working and asked if I could explain a scripture to him. He brought a Living Bible and showed me the text. His Bible was tattered and worn and underlined. Gene did not usually go to church, but he read this Bible and thought about how the words affected him.
In Paul’s letter to the Roman churches, he instructs believers in Jesus not to conform to the pattern of this world but to live a transformed life that honors Christ (12:1-2). He tells us how we’re to relate to both believers and nonbelievers in this world filled with hate and revenge. Loving others is the key test of a transformed life. (v. 21)
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11) This seems like a tall order, unless we allow Scripture to nurture the kind of attitudes that remind us of all that Jesus has done for us. Zeal for Christ comes from an ever-expanding relationship with Him. The more precious He becomes, the more His goodness floods our souls and spills out into the world.
Carolyn’s dad taught me a lesson. Get your worn-out Bible and read the words from Christ and you, too, will have zeal for Jesus Christ! May this Easter season renew your excitement for Christ.
Prayer – Jesus, revive my excitement in You! Thank you for dying for us so we may have eternal life. Amen.
Romans 12:11 – “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images: Yoksel Zok, Zac Durant, Pierre Bamin & Max Harlynking, courtesy of Unsplash
