There is a rhetorical questioned asked in the scripture, “Can a leopard change his spots, or an Ethiopian the color of his skin?” The obvious answer to these questions is “no.” In the same way, the scripture teaches us that we can’t change ourselves inwardly, or spiritually. We are told that our best efforts can’t keep us from the fundamental reality that we are sinful people. Our identity is that of being “fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God,” but also being fallen and broken by sin. Our best efforts alone always fall short of true transformation.
Transformation is Possible
The message of the Good News of Jesus Christ is transformation is possible. We can truly be changed, internally, and spiritually. Our hearts can be so transformed that it is best described as having “a new heart.” The Bible says that we can be made into a “new creation.” This is real, substantive change, but this change does not happen because we self-identify as being something different than who we are. It comes only through the miraculous, life transforming work of Jesus Christ. It is something He does for us that we can’t do for ourselves. It happens when we so surrender our lives to Him that we can say with the apostle Paul, “I am crucified with Christ.”
We are changed from darkness to light, from death to life, from sinful to forgiven, from lost to found. We are released from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of God, we exchange brokenness for restoration, enmity with God for intimacy with God, and eternity in hell for eternity in Heaven. We have a new heart, new hope, and a new forever. It comes through surrender to what God wants, not to what we feel or what someone else may tell us. And it is possible for any who will call on the name of the Lord in humility and surrender.
We don’t self-identify as Jesus, but we self-surrender to Jesus, and He does the work of transforming our lives.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.”
- Galatians 2:20
With all the brokenness, confusion, hopelessness, fear, frustration, and emptiness in the world, isn’t this Good News worth sharing?
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.