Before and After

May 13, 2021

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. Titus 3:3-8 NLT

We have two sisters in our church who look very much alike. One of them changes her hair up regularly and makes it easy for me to tell them apart. She goes long and short, up and down, and has tried about every variety of color in the rainbow. She generally gives a Facebook selfie preview of her before and after, which is fun and makes recognizing her easy.

However, this week she just grinned at me while I carried on an entire conversation with her, repeatedly calling her by her sister’s name. She had styled and colored her hair in exactly the same tone as her sister! They looked so much alike I was startled when my mistake was pointed out.

Paul points out a startling, almost inconceivable before and after picture of us when we receive Christ, and even tells us how this “beauty treatment” and transformation takes place.

BEFORE: We were foolish and disobedient. We were misled, slaves to all kinds of evil. We were overcome with envy and other kinds of sin, and we hated people. We were not the kind of people anyone should desire for friendship or relationship.

BEAUTY TREATMENT/TRANSFORMATION: God revealed His kindness and love through Jesus. He saved us through His inexplicable mercy. He washed away our sins, took us into His family, and poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit on us.

AFTER: We are exhibit A of grace! We look and act like Jesus! We are made right in His sight! We have confidence that we will inherit eternal life. In THIS life, because of the kindness and mercy of God toward us, our natures are changed, and we devote ourselves to doing good to others as God has done for us. Devotion is not a casual sometime thing. It means “ongoing love, loyalty, and enthusiasm.” That’s the after picture of me when I am a Jesus-follower. I am gratefully and proudly a “do-gooder.” No shame here.

• What’s your reputation as a do-gooder? Ask Jesus to help you as His follower to pursue that likeness of Him.