God's Transforming Work {Galatians 1}
2:00 PM
I’ve
gone back and forth trying to decide if I will write my last post for the year
about my own transformation, or something generic – let’s see how this goes.
I
just completed a 6 week renewal program through our church. It resulted because of the sex scandal in the
Catholic Church. It was filled with fighting
hope. And it reminds me of the book of
Galatians. The book of Galatians is Paul’s defense of his ministry and
message. The gospel was stolen by false teachers who twisted God’s word and
presented a different message as if it was the true gospel. Paul’s righteous
anger drives him to write this letter to the churches he planted in Galatia.
1:1-10 set the tone. 1:11-24 continues the defense.
As
Christians we are all transformed and because of that, we have a story. We all come from different backgrounds and began
our Christian journey at some point.
In
Galatians Paul defends his faith because of the Judaizers. Paul preached the gospel message he received
by God’s revelation – not man’s invention.
That’s the kind of change
Jesus creates in the gospel. We become people willing to share our shameful
past because of the bright future Jesus has given to us. When God reveals his
gospel to us, we become honest about our past and use our story to help others
understand God’s story. Only freedom in Christ can create such honesty.
In our last session in my church renewal
study, the road to Emmaus was included.
It’s a little less dramatic than Paul’s conversion. God moves on your heart in a gradual,
incremental way, and looking back you declare, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the
road, and while He opened the scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
Ellen
White says, “A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or trace
all the chains of circumstances in the process of conversion, but this does not
prove him to be unconverted.”
My
story is ordinary, in my mind. I grew up
attending church and my parents taught me to love and trust God (Deut. 6:4-9
& Ephesians 6:4). My conversion is
not something radical. It’s not
something you can slap a date or place on.
But we only want to hear these radical testimonies. What seems to happen to the people who have
walked the road to Emmaus?
Let
me remind you what happened. Emmaus was
a town near Jerusalem, some people who had been Jesus’ disciples were walking
home, three days after Jesus’ death.
They were walking home and Jesus Himself started walking with them. How often has that happened to you? We’re walking with Jesus and we’re crying
out, “Why aren’t you doing anything? I
don’t see you! I don’t feel you!” But He’s right there with us, and He’s
teaching us all about who He is.
And
then “IT” happens! There is a moment
when Jesus does something, and we recognize Him, and it’s like everything
clicks. We look back at the whole time
and we realize we’ve been in the boat.
The
road to Emmaus is not a blinding light.
It’s not a slap in the face. You
walk with Jesus and He teaches you about who He is and He helps you understand
the thing He’s doing and then brings you to a place where you are capable of
understanding. And your testimony is that
you walked with Jesus – He changed you! He made you a stronger disciple. He changed the way you approached life.
And here in Galatians, Paul teaches us to fight for that truth. God changed me. God changes me. And last week I wrote about the storms of life and about being in the boat with Jesus through the storm or standing safely on shore with the crowd.
I’m a fighter. Most people who know me would probably tell you that I fight for what I believe in and it’s quite difficult to knock me off that track.
Here’s
my point. God saved me. He hasn’t used me in some world-changing
way. This post isn’t even about me. It’s about God. It’s about a series of days, months and years
of seeking God. Knocking at His door. God answered.
God transformed me.
I’ve
had some pretty incredible experiences – God experiences – that I shy away from
sharing because so many people don’t believe it. But the storm I spoke about last week has
stirred in me a desire to share ‘my story’.
This storm is because the culture that surrounds us tells us that there’s
no need for God. No, nothing new under
the sun. But this sick warped culture
has infected my family who I thought I had carefully placed and protected in
God’s care.
I’ll
tell you – I walk back and forth to Emmaus every day. Jesus is walking with me and some days I
recognize Him, and other days it takes me a bit longer to see clearly. But because of that walk, I’m like Paul and I’ll
fight for the truth of Christ because He changed me! And the freedom I have from my relationship
of a faith in Christ makes me want to wear my spiritual armor every day and tell my story.
What’s your transformation story?
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