Are you willing to change?

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

One of the most profound truths I’ve ever heard in regards to faith in Jesus Christ is this:

“If you’re faith hasn’t changed you, it hasn’t saved you.”

Genuine, saving faith is effective in bringing about change in our lives. The things we used to love, the activities we used to involve ourselves with, the pleasures we used to seek, the ways of the world, the sinful desires we used to crave…when we come face to face with the God of the Bible, when we meet Jesus at the cross, we begin to die to all of the old wants of our flesh as we become alive in Christ. When we finally “behold the glory of the Lord”, He begins to transform us, one degree at a time. The longer we’ve walked with Christ, the more we should look like Him. Do you look like Jesus?

A few years ago in Bible study, I came to learn some interesting facts about the time of Christ. Jesus wasn’t the only teacher of His time. In fact, there were many teachers of the law, and each of these teachers had a following of their own. Of course, all of them paled in comparison to Jesus, but what I found to be so interesting was the habits that were formed by those who followed. Followers would travel with their teacher, and in those days, roads were not paved, so there was lots of dust being stirred up under their feet as they walked. Followers would follow so closely behind their leaders (a reflection of their commitment to follow their spiritual teachings), that it was fairly common for the followers to be covered in the dust from their teacher’s feet by the end of a day’s travel. They were literally covered in the dust of their teacher. I couldn’t help but make the connection to our spiritual lives. We have all been called to follow Jesus. The more closely we follow him, the more we become covered in His truth. As we choose to submerse ourselves into His teachings, we are drawn from the life we once lived, a life apart from Him, and are pulled into the new life that He offers. The more we seek Him, the more we find Him. The more we find Him, the more we are changed.

Are you willing to change? Are you willing to be covered in the dust of Jesus’ feet? Are you following Him? Has your faith in Jesus Christ changed you? In your pursuit of God, are you becoming increasingly more like His Son? When the veil of sin is removed from our eyes, the veil that blinds us from seeing the light, we behold God’s glory. And when we come face to face with God’s glory, we are changed…forever.