When one yielded his life to
Jesus, transformation takes place. Our Lord is so incredible and the
transformed life He offers!
A person who is newly born
spiritually can be compared with a newborn baby. Both are at risk. Both need
help. Both require protection, care and nurture. Just as the young baby needs
natural food, the person born spiritually needs the right kind of spiritual
food.
Jesus gave an illustration to
help us understand the risks involved. He spoke about a farmer sowing seed --
an example that underscores the importance of the next 30 days. He said some
seed is sown by the side of the road where it is consumed by birds before it
ever takes root. Other seed falls where the soil is shallow. It has an initial
burst of growth, but the roots never become well established. When the sun
comes up, the seed is scorched and withers. Still other seed takes root, but
soon thorns entangle and choke the life out of the new plant.
Fortunately
the parable doesn't end there. Jesus described another kind of soil as
"good ground." Seed sown into this soil took root, grew and
eventually multiplied many times over. (See Matthew 13:1-23 for the full
parable) Wouldn't you like your spiritual roots to go into that kind of
soil?
The
"seed" in the parable represents the "gospel" -- or
literally the "good news" that Jesus died on our behalf in order that
we might be restored in our relationship with God and receive eternal life. You
should make it your goal to go beyond an initial experience of yielding to
Christ, and press on toward sustained viability, productivity and dynamic
change.
Studies
indicate the critical importance of what happens in the days immediately
following a new spiritual birth. If you get a good start, the benefits can
sustain you the rest of your life. You want to understand what has happened and
establish new ways of thinking and behaving in order to grow, become
spiritually healthy and impact the lives of others.
(Adapted from ‘30days guide for
new believers’ by John D.Beckett,June 2011)
