We heard a beautiful testimony this past Sunday. Ms. Linda was faced with heartbreaking tragedy. As she faced the death of a marriage and the harsh reality of her new normal as a single mom, all seemed to have died within. Bitterness had overtaken her heart like an unruly and overgrown garden. What remained was only a distant memory of a life that once burned bright for the Lord!
More than tears
As she stood before us on the other side of brokenness, a different story is being told. She is now a change agent. Hundreds, if not thousands, of lives have been and are being transformed. She is now coloring outside the lines of traditional, cultural Christianity. What transpired? She isn’t the only one. Read through the Word and it’s not long before you’ll be reading of the lives of other change agents. I can’t help to wonder. What’s the common thread and does it exist in every one of us?
Repent to see.
Yes, I said repent. What does repentance have to do with the making of one who breaks the mold? Let’s revisit its definition. Repentance means much more than weeping over sin, pain, or failures. It even MORE than turning from those sins and following God. Many of us repent enough to be forgiven, but not enough to see the Kingdom.
Repentance means YOU CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING. “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance isn’t complete UNTIL it envisions His Kingdom. The focus of repentance is to change our way of thinking until the presence of His Kingdom fills our consciousness. Until this takes place, we will continue to live our lives thinking what we see in the natural is the superior reality.
Agents of change see beyond the natural. They live from the unseen. Paul said that the invisible realm is eternal, while what is seen is temporal. Jesus told Nicodemus that he’d have to be born again to see the Kingdom. That which is unseen can only be realized through repentance!
The Lord has called each of us by name. A destiny awaits. We were born for such a time as this. We are all called and equipped to color outside the lines. The greatest limitations are not those that are without, rather within. Repent, for the Kingdom is within reach!
QUESTIONS:
1. Who comes to mind when you think of an agent of change?
2. Do you believe God has called you to color outside the lines to be a agent of change? Explain
3. Discuss repentance and how it positions us to be agents of change.
