As we continue to live through a time when large meetings are, legally, unavailable, I am reminded of a woman who, some years ago, was contacting her Secondary School classmates about a reunion to mark 35 years since they had left their school. Many were excited about renewing old friendships. One man apparently wrote back to her: "I have the 5 Bs - baldness; bifocals; bridgework; bulges; and bunions." Being, as he must have been, still in his early 50s, I dread to think of the lifestyle he had been leading! A woman quipped: "I wasn't half the woman then, that I am today." - apparently referring to her physical size and weight!
However, another woman wrote: "I can't wait to see everyone. I've changed completely. At school, I was the class 'tramp'. I had no standards, and everyone knew it. But just a few years after I finished school, I received the Lord Jesus as my Saviour. My life was transformed! Because of Him, I'm not the person I was, and I want my classmates to know it."
In the New Testament, and in the Gospel according to Luke, we read of a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax-collector at a time when tax-collectors were really hated. The ordinary tax-collector demanded more than he was entitled to do, and pocketed the difference. Of course, he would have been accompanied by a couple of Roman soldiers when he came to your door - and it would not have been either wise, or healthy, to try to get away with paying what you believed to be a just amount! However, a chief tax-collector like Zacchaeus made even more money. He was cold-hearted, and money-loving. He demanded a greater sum than was due, from each of the tax-collectors below him. Even worse, was the fact that he was a Jew, working for the Roman Occupying Power.
Many will be familiar with the story - indeed, some will still be able to sing the song about him being a "very little man". He was so short in physical stature that, when he decided that he wanted to catch a glimpse of the travelling preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, Who was making such an impact on the population of Judaea and Samaria, and other areas, that he climbed a sycamore tree by the side of the roadway, in order to do so.
However, Jesus did not simply pass by - He stopped, looked up, and uttered the well-known words: "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." (Luke 19:5). Zacchaeus didn't think twice! "... he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully." (Luke 19:6). The Saviour followed Zacchaeus home and, the next thing that is recorded are his amazing words: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." (Luke 19:8).
What a transformation! When we come to the Lord Jesus, in repentance, and faith, we commence a brand-new life. That is why it is referred to as being "born again"! Then, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, sinful attitudes are replaced with godly traits. Selfishness gives way to caring; greed gives way to generosity; lust gives way to purity. It's a work that is referred to as "sanctification" - basically, making us more like Jesus, day by day. (By the way, there is a chapter in "Great Words of the Faith", on Sanctification, if you would like to learn more! You will also, by your purchase, be helping those in the persecuted church. See the link above).
Has the Christ transformed your life? Can you truly say: "I'm not the same person I once was."? Someone has written: "God formed us; sin deformed us; Jesus can transform us." Will you permit Him to do so, for you? Will you?!