Changed

CHANGED

a prayer to open

Here I am, Lord. Remind me who I am.

I am loved. I am known. I belong to you.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Simply by virtue of being a follower of Jesus, each of us has an old self: who we were before we knew Jesus and committed our lives to him. During Paul’s day, there was, of course, no such thing as a lifelong Christian. Everyone was what today we might call a convert, so most, if not all, of the people to whom Paul was writing could clearly identify the difference between their old and new selves.

This is not necessarily true with us today. Although this is changing, we live in a world in which the Christian story has been built into our common language and experience. Many people consider themselves to have been Christians from a very young age and don’t necessarily have clearly identifiable old selves and new selves, at least not in the way Paul described it to the Ephesians. But regardless, we can all point to moments or seasons when transformation happened, when the new life Jesus Christ offers swept over us and we recognized the ways we had been in rebellion against God.

• Reflect on when you were confronted with your rebellion against God and his ways. How had you been following the passionate desires and inclinations of your sinful nature? What caused you to see your rebellion?
• Identify one way your life in Christ looks different from how your life looked before you were confronted with your rebellious, worldly ways. In what areas does your life still look more like the old self than like the self in Christ? What attitudes or behaviors do you long to see transformed?
• Take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s loving presence. Ask him to open your eyes and heart to the ways he wants you to live more fully into the truth that you have a new self in Jesus Christ. What did God bring to mind?

Oh, Father, thank you for rescuing me from my own rebellion in chasing after the things of this world, sometimes so obvious and sometimes subtle and ruinous. Thank you for showing me a new way—a way that truly satisfies the longing in my soul and restlessness of my spirit. So many things in this world seduce me away from you. They seem to carry a promise of happiness and security and belonging. But they disappoint and draw me into deeper discontent. I need a constant flow of your love and grace. On my own I drift away, pulled to temporary pleasures. Let my life be a reminder to others that you transform individual hearts, there is hope, and there is a lasting love. Amen.