Be Transformed To TransformSample

GOD'S CALL AND OUR PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God..” (Ver 1) Before he got the call of God, Paul was on a mission to persecute the church - the people of God. The Jewish council in Jerusalem, gave him the authority to persecute the followers of Jesus Christ. But while he was on his way to Damascus, God met him and showed him who Paul was and who Paul was to be. That encounter with God brought a personal transformation into his life. It made him obedient to God’s voice and value others. He was no longer the same man. The transformed Paul, in his epistle to the Corinthians, calls the same people who he once persecuted, as “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (Ver 2). Despite all the diversity, he began to see the Church as Christ’s body which belonged to God and that God belonged to the Jews and the Gentiles alike. He admired the church as a place where people of God experienced God’s grace and peace. Throughout the epistles, he prays for God's grace and peace to be with the church - the followers of Christ. The Modern day church still prays the same prayer. From being a persecutor of the church to becoming a lover of the church, Paul's life had undergone a paradigm shift because of that encounter with God. An encounter he hardly expected, especially when he was on his way to persecute the same God. Oftentimes, we find ourselves rebelling against God. That's exactly where He meets us! That's when and where he shows us who we are and who we should be. He qualifies us according to His grace and transforms us. All we have to do is listen to the word of God, obey Him, turn away from our old ways and be ready to be transformed. If we allow God to act in our lives, He is faithful to put our old self behind us and give us a brand-new beginning, which will be a blessing not only to us but for generations to come.