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Growing Things Change

               “The guy in that picture is an idiot!”
                That is what I thought as I gazed at a photo of Sara and me on our wedding day.
                Now, let me clarify:  I was not an idiot for getting married.  In fact, marrying Sara is one of the smartest things I have ever done.  The problem is that the guy in that photo has no idea how to love the beautiful girl that he just married.  He has no idea how to be a good father.  He worries way too much and is more angry than he ought to be.  In short, he needs a lot of work.
                The good news, though, is that the guy in that photo is not me.  At least, he is not me anymore.  I have grown up some in the last twenty-two years.  I am still not a perfect husband or father, but I am a better one.  I still worry, but I do it less often.  I am a little more relaxed, kind, open and generous than I was when that picture was taken. 
                One of the most hopeful things about this life is that God designed living things to grow and change.  In fact, in God’s kingdom, they not only change, but they change for the better.
                Colossians chapter three outlines what this process look like.  It starts by saying, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on this above, not on earthly things” (verses 1 and 2) and then it lists the very practical ways that is done.  By God’s spirit and power, we are to “put to death” things like anger, rage, malice and slander (verses 5-8).  We are to “take off our old self” (verse 9) and “put the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge and image of its creator” (verse 10).  This new self is clothed with qualities like compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness and love (verses 12-13). 
                If you are feeling discouraged, remember that success has nothing to do with being perfect.  Rather, it is about growing.
                We can be changed for the better. After all, we walk with a God whose stated purpose is to “make all things new” (Revelation 21:4).

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