Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Change: Losing Big to Gain it All

As was alluded to in the previous post, I like the t.v. show The Biggest Loser. While I'm at school, it's the only show I actually make time to watch. Season to season, I am always inspired by the contestants' stories and struggles to change their lives from the outside in. With few exceptions, they put their noses to the grindstone every single day and see results - noticeable physical transformation from week to week. They work hard and see the changes. To win, they must lose. Sound familiar?

As I watch the contestants sweat it out in the gym and on the ranch, I can't help but think of the incredible effort God puts into humanity. Before any of us here today were ever formed by His hand, we have to remember that Jesus Christ hung on a cross. The Lord of all creation stepped down from His throne on high and became one of us. But He didn't just become one of us. He lived life the way it should be - sinless and pure. But as difficult as that was, God didn't stop there. Our Lord became our sin. I try to imagine all of that hatred, anger, shame, regret, and darkness cast onto a single person, and not just anyone, but God. God took that on, and He hung there at Calvary until those sins were dead. Talk about hard work!

But it doesn't even stop there. Because when Jesus rose again, He left with us His Spirit, and that Spirit is what lives inside of us. And the Holy Spirit is the presence of God in our very mortal, imperfect and sinful bodies. But with Jesus, we can see our lives changed. And it takes an every day 24-7 commitment to the Lord if we want to be more like His Son. We should all be willing to let our Father drill us each and every day so that we too may be transformed.

The biggest losers are shedding pounds, but God Almighty is melting away the baggage of our sin. Jesus didn't just come to save us, He came as our Redeemer to make us whole and fill that space in our hearts with His grace and love. In losing ourselves, we gain Christ.




Father, I thank You that I'm not who I was even yesterday. I am always caught in awe when I think of what You've not only put up with in my prideful self, but what You've embraced wholeheartedly and never turned away from even for a second. I am so broken and desperately in need of Your healing, Lord. I am so blessed by Your work in my life. I want to be changed and challenged every day to be more like Jesus. Make my life Yours and not mine. I want You to work so hard in me that I am transformed from the inside out. I'm so excited to see what You're going to do in my life. In the name and blood of the Lamb I pray, Amen.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:39

1 comment: