Lord, please help me to change - Judith Couchman

THE NEW , IMPROVE D YO Ufalling on goo d groun d tha t "mad e a hundred time s more" (v . 8)and tol d her ho w to grow as a Christian .The nex t week, Stephanie jilted ou r schedule d tim e togeth -er. Sh e didn't respon d t o m y phone messages , and I never hear dfrom her again . I suspect whe n Stephani e discovere d tha t Chris -tianity required commitment , sh e decided i t wasn't worth it .C/f/f/-hen I think o f Stephanie's change o f mind, I can't hel p//' bu t thin k o f myself . Sure, I' m stil l a Christian, while wh oknows what happene d t o her . Bu t a s I work throug h issue s o fchange, I realize ho w easil y I can war m u p t o God whe n I nee dHim—and ho w swiftl y I can dra w bac k afte r He's granted m yrequests.I too soo n forge t tha t a relationship wit h Go d take s a two -way commitment .God save s us from si n an d change s u s because H e love s us ,but not s o we can squande r i t on ourselves . Once we'v e receive dHis grace, H e ask s us to multipl y i t a hundredfold i n th e live s o fothers.We change s o that, i n turn, we can help others. Bibl e teache rHannah Whithal l Smit h explaine d thi s spiritual exchange :Many people see m t o thin k tha t th e onl y thin g pro -posed i n religio n i s to improve th e "ol d man, " that is ,the flesh ; and tha t th e wa y to do thi s i s to disciplin eand punis h i t until i t i s compelled t o behave. Henc ecomes the asceticis m o f th e Buddhis t an d others ; an dhence, also , comes th e ide a tha t th e "cross " for Chris -tians consists i n th e painfu l struggles o f thi s helples s"old man " t o do th e wil l o f God, a will which i n th every nature o f thing s th e fles h cannot understan d o rlove.But a true comprehension o f th e religio n o f Chris tshows u s that wha t i s really meant i s the death o f thi sold ma n an d th e birth i n u s of a "ne w creature," begot -ten o f God, whose tastes and instinct s are all in harmon ywith God, and to whom the doing of God's will must be, andcannot help being, a joy and a delight.It i s not th e ol d ma n thwarte d an d mad e miserabl eby being compelled t o submit t o a will i t dislikes, but i t/2.0