Transformed by God: Like Carving a Pumpkin
Topics to Dig Into
Only rejects remain. Pumpkins with a flat side or a soft spot from warm fall weather. Redeeming what little they’re worth, the Pumpkin Patch sells these undesirables at a discount. No one wants them.
You and I resemble imperfect, rotting pumpkins.
God wants all of us.
God excels at restoring beauty to dirty, broken undesirables.
Becoming a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God chooses you from the patch and washes away all the dirt you picked up from the field or that rubbed off from other pumpkins.
He exposes the mucky mess in your heart – the tangled seeds of greed, self-centeredness, and hatred. It’s yucky, but Jesus doesn’t mind getting messy.
Ignoring the rotting stench, God reaches in and scoops out all that foul slime to make you clean.
I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…I will put my Spirit in you.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 NRSVUE
Does ‘cleanse my heart from idols’ sound outdated and irrelevant?
An idol is defined as anything we cherish more than God.
Considering our priorities, we worship many: stuff, family, social connections, convenience, happiness, fitness, fashion, politics, education.
These priorities don’t satisfy. We tire of our stuff and want more. Friends and family hurt us, styles change, and the scale goes up and down. Happiness dissipates due to difficulties.
Only God satisfies our heart’s desire to belong and feel loved.
God selects us, warts and all. He removes our shame, replacing it with purpose. God defines our value. But that’s not all.
God cuts away the rot and turns the flaws into character assets. He then carves a smile on our face and fills us with His light for all the world to see.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts.
2 Corinthians 4:6 NRSVUE
We’re hardly recognizable as God’s love shines through our eyes and smile. This inner glow brightens the space around us.
God transforms idol-loving humans into beacons of His love.
Open Your Heart:
Our first vulnerable step toward the light is to open our hearts to Him. We’re taught to be strong and self-sufficient but Scripture tells us the opposite.
Receive:
We think our good behavior will earn God’s favor—we can clean the dirt off ourselves and hide the rot. But God already chose us. Transformation begins when we cease trying to earn His love and simply receive it. Accept the gift.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSVUE
Cooperate:
While we can’t make God love us more than He already does, we have an active role in this transformation. Jesus doesn’t punish our past mistakes. We’ll face natural consequences. Instead, God guides us with practical action steps.
You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24 NRSV
Be Amazed:
God promises the Holy Spirit’s guidance and strength. He’ll empower you to accomplish more that your human capacity.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.
Acts 1:8 NLT
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