Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for thins month: “Trusting God”
Our Bible verse for today: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow – you are not sowing the future body, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or grain. But God gives it a body as He wants, and to each of the seeds its own body.” 1 Corinthians 15:36-37 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Trust God for the person you are becoming.”
Let’s try a little experiment. First, try to imagine that you have never seen a tomato and therefore you have no idea what a fully grown deliciously ripe tomato looks like. Now, take a tiny tomato seed and place it in the palm of your hand. Look at it. By looking at the seed could you possibly visualize what the fully grown tomato will be like? No you can’t. The seed looks nothing like what it will one day become.
Let’s do it again, this time with an acorn. Holding that little brown oblong orb with a hard shell in your hand, do you see the mighty oak tree it will one day be? Probably not. The acorn is nothing like the oak tree. And yet, that is what it will one day become.
This time do it with a caterpillar. Do you see the butterfly? No? Try harder. Surely that fuzzy crawling little wormlike creature somehow resembles and reveals the beautiful majestic butterfly it is in the process of becoming. But no, there’s no resemblance. And yet, if it develops as intended by its Creator, it will indeed one day be that beautiful butterfly.
Now go look in a mirror. What do you see? Can you see the magnificent creation of God, a beautiful spirit created in the image of God and transformed into the likeness of Christ? Keep looking. It might take a while, and it might not be immediately obvious at the moment, but that transformation is slowly but surely taking place in the life of a child of God.
The process I’ve been describing is known in scientific circles as “metamorphosis”. The theological term is “sanctification”. Basically, sanctification means that over time the Holy Spirit is slowly transforming you into the man or woman God intends for you to be. Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44:
“So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.”
God is in the process of transforming you into the person He wants you to be. It will take time, and at times you may have trouble seeing it. But it is happening. You can trust Him for it. You were created for more. You were created to be more. Like the tomato that comes from the seed, like the mighty oak tree sleeping in the shell of an acorn, like the caterpillar which emerges from the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly, you will one day be the magnificent person God has always intended for you to be. Trust Him. Cooperate with Him. Let the Holy Spirit accomplish His transforming work in your life.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 