Week 5 – Are We Different?

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 (NIV)

When I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior over 30 years ago, I began reading the Bible with great eagerness. Born and raised in New York, I suddenly found myself clear across the country in California, among people I barely knew, and discovering a newfound faith that I never thought I would embrace. I had a great deal to learn about God and His Word. With my new Bible in hand, I underlined passages, scribbled question marks, and often didn’t understand what I was reading, even still I continued to spend time with the Lord, and He honored that time.  

At first, I wasn’t trying to change specific behaviors or attitudes that didn’t align with Scripture. I simply wanted to know Jesus and learn what His Word said, but that daily time with Him became transformative. As Isaiah 55:10-11, (NIV), reminds us, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Without me realizing it, His Word was changing me. This is sanctification: the ongoing process of looking more like Jesus.

The process can be gradual, like gaining or losing weight. You don’t always notice the change in yourself, but others do. Living in California as a newlywed, working, making friends, attending church, and reading my Bible, I didn’t notice any dramatic differences. One day, my cousin from New York said, “You don’t curse anymore.” That surprised me, as I hadn’t realized I cursed often, nor had I set out to stop. Yet God’s Word was renewing my mind, heart, and speech. As Paul wrote, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV).

My cousin wasn’t witnessing self-improvement or willpower, she saw the byproduct of daily time with Jesus. I was far from perfect, but people noticed the difference. Just as the Sanhedrin took note of  Peter and John in Acts 4:13, people around us should see that we’ve been with Jesus. 

No matter where we are in our walk with the Lord, as a new believer or seasoned saint, God meets us where we are and delights in teaching us and growing our faith. 

So the question remains: Are we different because we’ve been with Jesus and can  people see the change?