Who are You Becoming? – Part II
If you haven’t had the chance to read last week’s blog, I encourage you to scroll down and read it first.
I heard from many of you last week saying that this really hit home for you. I also heard from some that responded differently to the idea of the hope that I am still “becoming” someone. So, I wonder, how many of you had these thoughts come through your mind as you read last week’s blog?:
- “You don’t know my past.”
- “This is a nice thought, but I am ____ years old and that ship has sailed for me.”
- “What’s done is done. I have made my choices and now I have to live with them.”
I will tell you, that as long as you believe this, it will be true for you. I believe though, that there is hope for a better future for you. You woke up this morning to a gift, whether you recognized it or not – a new day. The choices, circumstances, mistakes, failures – whatever you want to call them – that you use to define your past do not have to define your future as well. Yes, they are part of your story. But when you woke up today, you turned to a blank page that was still to be written.
“Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.”
I visit with people every day who have dealt with addictions in the past, failed marriages, poor business decisions, financial struggles, depression, those grieving over a loss from years ago, and the list goes on and on. I am so encouraged to see how God continues to offer grace and peace in the lives of these people, and offers wisdom and a new life – a new beginning.
The Bible is full of people who made terrible choices, who God ended up working in and through their lives to positively impact the world around them. In fact, the Bible isn’t about the characters we read about, it is all about how God continually walks alongside broken people and through His grace and love, they become the person God created them to be.
I think one of the most powerful questions that I have asked myself has been, “God, if you were to have your way with my life, what would it look like?”
Who do you feel God has called you to become...
In the way I treat and value people around me?
In my work ethic?
In my heart for God and love for others?
In my personality and attitude?
In my personal spiritual disciplines?
In how I deal with conflict and stress?
In my relationships with those I live with?
So who are you becoming? Life is not about an arrival – it’s about the journey. I hope you are encouraged by the fact that there may still be more to learn and areas of your life where you can still grow. God is not finished with you. I hope that ignites a flame in your heart today.
Personally, if I live to be 80 years old, I hope I am still learning and growing. I anticipate it with each new day, that God will give me the grace to help me understand just a little bit more about who He is, and to experience and grow each day into the person I was created to become. I hope the same is true for you as well.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”