Richer

"I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge - because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you." 1 Cor 1:4-6

When we talk about life change we can think about loss. We think about erasure and deletion, that everything must go and something new must completely replace it. Here, Paul talks about life-change in a different way. He says that Jesus doesn't erase or delete who we are, He enriches who we really are - what we know and what we say. There are some things that fall away, but the core of who we are, who we were created to be, remains and is strengthened, bolstered and fortified. We become more than we were and more of what we can be. Our sins are washed away, but they were never what we truly are.

Your Story

"The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, the dragged him from the Temple, and immediately the gates were shut. While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar."

Paul is facing the wrath of the entire city. People are trying to tear him limb from limb, clawing for blood with their bare hands. He is only saved by the intervention of the Roman guards. Because he is a citizen, Paul is given a chance to speak to the crowd. He could have performed miracles, spoken prophecies, proved to them that he was powerful and speaking truth. He could have explained to them the mysteries of heaven, reasoned with them about where they were wrong in their thinking. He could have pleaded with them for his life, begged for mercy. He could have renounced his beliefs and returned to Judaism. Instead he resorts to something even more powerful. He tells them his story.

He explains to them how he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He gives them the play-by-play on how his life was changed. He was once like them. No, he was once more zealous and certain than any of them, but he found a life-changing relationship with Jesus. This story, his personal story is more influential and powerful than anything else Paul could have done. And it is something any Christian can do - provided they have a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

What does that take? Faith and action.