Bible Verse
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” — Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
Reflection
Fall is the time of year when we visually see things dying in nature. Yet it’s a time of celebration and beauty too. Look at God’s glorious artwork in the fall landscape. Amazing how something coming to the end of itself could look so beautiful.
In scripture, God calls us to die to ourselves, to our old ways of life, to those things in our heart that keep us from being who God has created us to be. As we continue to die to self in deeper ways, as we give God access to more of our heart, we can be more completely filled with the life of Christ. That’s where God’s beautiful transformation of us takes place. The new life of Christ becomes rooted more deeply in our heart, the fruit of the Spirit grows and radiates outward to shine His light everywhere.
Transformation may look and feel messy as we go through it. But if we ask God to show us how He sees this process, we would see the stunning beauty that flourishes from dying to our old self. If we could watch a time-lapse movie of the changes in the natural landscape from fall to winter to spring to summer, we would have an amazing visual of how God cultivates new life in us through transformation.
It’s not easy to come to the end of ourselves in every aspect of our lives. But maybe it will help us embrace this process when we realize how God sees our transformation — how beautiful it looks to Him. Remember, from transformation comes abundant new life.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for transforming us. We die to ourselves so Christ can live fully in us. What a beautiful celebration. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Thought for the Day
Pick up an autumn leaf and keep it somewhere near your Bible or devotional area, so you can be reminded all year of how God is transforming you.
Copyright © 2020 by Janet Eriksson
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Janet Eriksson is an intercessor, writer, and teacher in Dahlonega, Georgia. She loves conversation with friends, front porch swings, sweet tea, and spending time on lakes and rivers. The author of nine books and editor of many more, Janet blogs and teaches at https://adventureswithgod.blog/. She enjoys volunteering with Transformations. Janet received her M. Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary.
