Plastic surgery, makeovers, dramatic weight loss, extreme weight gain, tattoos and piercings – the list of body-altering practices goes on and on. It seems there's no end to the amount that we can do to change our physical appearance. But what should take precedent are the changes that we dedicate ourselves to making in relation to our attitude, and our desire to have the Lord transform us into better versions of ourselves.
Whether yours is a testimony full of dramatic twists and turns, shocking highs and lows or one which speaks of a more steady and seemingly stable relationship with Christ, you will still have undergone a spectacular transformation. The person you are now, the person you're becoming as you journey with Christ is a far cry from the person you were before you accepted him into your heart.
Unlike the physical modifications that we can make to our outer selves, the difference that Jesus makes to our lives isn't always immediate for all to see. But whether gradually or instantly, the incredible change that he brings should be seen by others as our faith and our relationship with him grows from strength to strength.
The following Bible verses touch on the life-changing nature of getting to know and love God and knowing that you're loved by Him has on us.
Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!
Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 5:1-5 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Psalm 51:10-12 - Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
1 John 3:2-3 - Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Colossians 3:10 - And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
