In my excitement to challenge you guys to follow Christ last week (Feb. 13th) - to be more loving because your life has been invaded by God who IS love - I completely left out the final points I'd originally written in my outline!
- who you were doesn't have to be who you are
- who you are doesn't have to be who you will be
In other words, when you become a follower of Christ - who loved us enough to come & die for us! (John 3:16) - your past is no longer the key to your personality. In fact, the Bible says that the "old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As well, your present isn't simply a directional arrow pointing towards a predictable future. Joshua strongly suggests that we choose whether to follow God or not (Joshua 24:15)... and Paul tells us (much later!) that God is at work within our lives, "giving [us] the desire & the power to do what pleases him." (Philippians 2:13, NLT)
You don't have to be who you were; you don't have to be who you are... if God is at the center of your life!
