And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corithians 3:18

Happy Reformation Day! On October 31st, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. Luther set out to bring attention to the issues that the church at the time needed to address. Through this endeavor, he found 95 issues that plagued the church. Famously Luther would later be labeled a heretic and through his work alongside other reformers, the protestant movement would be born. However, Luther did not set out to split from the church but to change it from within. There are many parallels between Luther’s story and Jesus’ story. When Jesus came, He came to save the world and not to condemn it. He tells us this in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” NIV. Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew tells the crowd listening to him  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” NIV.  Christ was looking to change the people not destroy them. Luther was looking to change the church not fight against it. History shows us that in the end this change was not possible and that a split was necessary. Today Christ is looking to change you and me, not destroy us. Let’s take a look at this changing power on Reformation Day 2024. 

Probably my favorite example of Christ changing someone in the Bible is Saul who became Paul. As a kid, I listened to the Your Story Hour CD of the story of Paul every night before bed. Uncle Dan and Aunt Sue would recount to me the story of a man named Saul who was persecuting the early church. This story is recorded in the book of Acts chapter 9. Saul was a Jewish man who knew the scriptures and he set out to stamp out the believers of Christ. As he was on his way to Damascus in order to catch more Christians, Jesus appeared to him in a great light. Saul is blinded and Jesus tells him to go on to Damascus. At the same time, a Christian believer named Ananias is told by Jesus to meet Saul the persecutor. Through this encounter with Jesus, Saul is changed and begins to preach about his Savior, Jesus. 

What I find so interesting about this story is that we often think of Saul who becomes Paul as a complete destruction of the old person. While there are times when Christ does have to destroy the evil parts of us more often He transforms us. Paul later would describe this change in Romans 12:2 as a transformation. The Greek word is μεταμορφόω (Metemorpho) for which we get the word metamorphosis. Kids learn about the process of metamorphosis by observing caterpillars who through the process of transformation become butterflies. 

Saul was in dire need of change, of metamorphosis, Christ took the caterpillar that he was, misguided and doing evil, and transformed him into a herald of the gospel. Christ is looking to do the same thing for us today. What I love about Paul is that he did not lose all his training when he took on his new life, he used it! Christ was not looking to take away everything that made him who he was, Christ saw the potential of Saul and changed him into something beautiful. 

Do you believe that Christ has the reforming power, the transforming power, the changing power to create in you something beautiful? The prophet Isaiah equates this power to a potter and clay. “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” Isaiah 64:8 NIV. God is a master craftsman. He creates wonders beyond our imagination. He created you and He is willing to recreate you. He is willing to salvage His beautiful creation and correct the wrong. He is not looking to destroy you but to restore you. On this Reformation Day as we remember the work of Martin Luther who sought change for the Christian world, will you seek change as well? Will you allow the master craftsman the space to create a beautiful transformation in your life?