You in Five YearsSample

On Day 1, I mentioned that we overestimate what we can do in one year but underestimate some things.

In five years, you could have learned a different language. If you saved $5 daily, you could give away $10,000 in five years. You could read through the Bible three times in five years if you read two chapters daily. You could transform your physical health with a few different choices every day when it comes to what you do with your body and what you eat.

Sadly, we also tend to underestimate how much we can wreck our lives in five years. We could destroy our lives through addictions to substances. In five years, with a few different choices, you could find yourself in prison. In five years, you could have destroyed your family and wrecked your marriage with deception and infidelity. If you procrastinate, you could be even further from where you want to go.

It would be a shame if, in five years, you are simply an exaggerated version of yourself today. The worst thing is for someone to run into you after many years of not being around each other and say, "Oh my gosh, you haven't changed one bit. "

The big idea for day two of this plan is simple. If nothing changes, the future you will be an exaggerated version of the present you.

There are some things about that truth that sound like good news. If we could exaggerate your kindness, faithfulness, and self-control (along with the rest of the fruit of the Spirit), that'd be awesome. But let's be honest. There are parts of you that, if exaggerated, would not be a gift to the people around you.

If you're worried about what "future-you" will look like, I want to share two crucial reminders with you. God's grace is real, and we can make radical changes.

Saul was, at one time, on a dangerous trajectory. In Acts 7, he oversaw the execution of a leader in the early church named Stephen. Future Saul looked a lot like this zealous persecutor of Jesus. But, in Acts 9, we read about how God's grace interrupted Saul's trip to Damascus, and his future turned in a radically different direction. Saul started to be referred to by a new name (Paul) and became the greatest evangelist in the early church. Paul radically changed the way he lived, what he believed, and the mission he pursued.

In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul reflects on God's grace at work. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."

If the idea of future-you being an exaggerated version of present-you does not make you feel good, you need an encounter with God's grace. It's time for some radical change. Changing your direction takes hard work, and your progress might be slower than you prefer, but I want to encourage you. Today, God has allowed you an opportunity to turn around. Please don't waste it!

Tomorrow, we will look at one of the Bible's most surprising verses I've read. It's a reminder everyone needs.