An example of transformation, and a pause to consider our own
By Dean Collins
As I finished reading the last chapter of Acts this morning, I couldn’t help but consider one of my prayer verses for this year. Paul likely wrote this verse/prayer while he was in prison in Rome. As I prayed it this morning, I once again realized that the work of sanctification is a lifelong process. Yes, the good news is that Jesus died so our sins might be forgiven, and we can thank God for this wonderful news. But the transformation of our lives is a long, slow arc of change, and we must be diligent to allow God’s work of transformation to continue or we might find ourselves more like the Pharisees and less like we see Paul at the end of his life’s journey.
Here is the two-verse prayer I am praying every day. I am sure you have read and prayed it many times as well:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
After I read chapter 28 of Acts, I turned back to Acts 8 and read verse 3:
“But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”
Most scholars believe Paul lived somewhere between 25-30 years after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. There is a remarkable difference between the man ravaging the church in Acts 8 and the man who was unusually kind to strangers after a hellacious trip by sea that ended with a shipwreck followed by a snack bite. Yet this transformed man helped gather firewood with strangers and was kind to them when they thought he was first a murderer and then decided he was a god. No matter his circumstances, Paul passionately shared the good news of Jesus until he breathed his final breath.
Forever changed
I am pretty sure that in Acts 8 Paul was an arrogant man who was sure he knew it all and was quick to challenge, accuse, convict, and sadly even enjoy the demise of another human being. It took a few years and some time away before the work of transformation took hold in Paul’s life, but once it did he was forever changed.
By the end of Paul’s life, he had learned to simply let God be in charge and to trust that his role and purpose was to serve everyone he was given access to with the clear and compelling message of the gospel of Jesus. Paul trusted God for the outcomes of transformation that can come after the gospel is presented. I suspect trusting the outcomes to God is the hardest part for some of us.
Examining change
As you read chapter 28 and consider Paul’s transformation, I challenge you as I challenge myself, to evaluate the state of your own spiritual transformation. How much change is evident in how we treat others over the last months and years of our lives? What areas of our attitude and behaviors do we need to surrender to God? Are we willing to accept God’s assignments or do we still resist and insist on being sure of our agendas over his will?
I want the peace of God that passes all understanding to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. And I am confident that can’t happen unless I completely surrender my agenda and preferences for how things in my life should go. God has a plan, and it is a truly good one. My prayer for each of us is that we allow ourselves to fall into his plan completely every day. When we do, I suspect that one day we will notice that life is filled with daily surprises of joy and peace.
Lord, we surrender our lives to you today. Forgive us for every stubborn pursuit that does not align with your will. Transform us by the power of the gospel today so that someone nearby might see in us the love of Christ and accept your grace and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Acts 28 ESV
Photo by behzad bisadi on Unsplash
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