Reflection
Put on the new self,
created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Ephesians 4:24
Change begins with an exchange. It demands both putting off the old and putting on the new. We cannot cover ourselves with a veneer of Christ’s message while basically retaining our old habits. Change does not only mean to stop the wrong, but to add the right. Following Christ doesn’t only reform us, it transforms us. Christ’s call doesn’t merely provide pious words; it expects right actions. The change which Paul describes is a change through the power of the Gospel. It is the demonstration of the new self in our everyday living.
Prayer
Create in me a new heart, O God.
Action
Read Ephesian 4:17,20-24. Reflect on the words of Paul. What do they mean for you?
Suggested Reading
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the God has set his seal.”
John 6:24-35
When it enters us, the Word transforms our hearts and minds; it changes us and leads us to direct our lives to the Lord.
Pope Francis
Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.
Billy Graham
In conversion you are not attached primarily to an order, nor to an institution, nor a movement, nor a set of beliefs, nor a code of action – you are attached primarily to a Person, and secondarily to these other things.
E. Stanley Jones
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
John Wooden.
The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.
Oliver W Holmes.