“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’  Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'”  John 9:1-3

My life has not been perfect – or easy.  But here’s the question – could it be that God has allowed so much heartbreak in my life so that His works might be displayed in me?  We can look at this one of two ways.  We can be sad and depressed, as if we’ve somehow been cheated.  We can focus on what we didn’t get, or all the bad decisions we’ve made “as a result.”  Or, we can say that, because God is faithful, and His character never changes, we can rest assured that what He has given us has been given out of love, and that He can still be glorified by our lives.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).  Better days are coming.  Eternity is coming.  Is that where our hope lies?  If so, we can have joy.

Here is the real question: in light of the verse above – are we open to radical transformation, in spite of our pasts?  In other words, do we want to be healed?  Are we willing to be totally different people, living totally different lives?  No matter who we were in the past, we can cultivate new thoughts, new habits, a new lifestyle, new priorities, new relationships, and a new story.  God has promised us this.

“The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?'”  John 9:8

Is this not the kind of radical transformation we’re after?  I know I’m not the only one who wants her life to be so radically different that those who used to know me exclaim, “Wait.  Is that Dutchess?  She has really changed!”  None of us want to be who we’ve always been.  And here’s the thing – we don’t have to.  God came to rescue us from our past lives.  Yes, life may have been rough.  We may have scars.  Major scars!  But God’s desire is not that we wallow in that, living as “victims” for the rest of our lives.  No!  His desire is that His works might be displayed in us, and that He might be glorified because of what He has done our lives.  I don’t know about you, but I’m cool with that.