My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. (James 2:1)
HAVE YOU SEEN THAT VIDEO of a boy who found a dead rat in his bottle of soda? You can imagine how disgusting the image was—and how easy it would have been for someone to take a swig before noticing the problem. I have no idea whether that kid really found the rat or if he put it there himself; but if his claim is true, I doubt he’ll ever drink pop again.
You probably have experienced the same kind of before-and-after events, experiences that permanently change the way you behave. Maybe you quit eating meat after seeing how inhumanely some animals are treated. Maybe you started exercising after the doctor told you of a serious health risk. Maybe you created a budget, and lived by it, after going bankrupt. Some events change our perspective so that we can’t help but live differently.
That’s how it is for Christians. When we feel the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, our world turns upside down; we begin living by a new set of rules. We become disgusted by our own selfishness and begin putting others first. We are horrified by how we have pandered to people in high places and turn our attention to the downtrodden. We see clearly how hypocritical we’ve been and we repent of our sins. Because of Christ, our lives will never be the same.
Tell someone about how Christ has changed you.
Heather Gemmen Wilson is the author of the Global Warning Series, a fiction series for preteens, and she inspires young minds as a professor of creative writing.
© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
