The Pretender

"I want to know what became of the changes We waited for love to bring". These are lyrics to a song by Jackson Browne. The name of the song is "The Pretender". This lyric speaks volumes to me as a believer. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, things are good. We know we are forgiven. We know we are loved. We are excited at the prospect of finding out more information about our God. We may also be a bit nervous, as we try to wade through the world and determine what is in God's plan and what is not. As we drag through the sludge of life, the shine on our salvation dims from time to time. We lose sight of the love that God has freely given to us on the cross. The love that we were so excited to find. The love that completely changed our lives. Then we stumble. Then we stumble, again. Then we think that we are too horrible for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us. We then determine that if we can not live a perfect life, that we have to leave God. We don't want to be a hypocrite. So it is better to leave God than to accept his Grace. It is better to not try, than to accept change in our lives. After a while. God is an after thought and we are living what the world considers the high life. Our friends then express their happiness that we have chosen to give up the Christian lifestyle and be with them. So what became of the changes that we waited for love to bring? The changes are there. The Holy Spirit is in you as a believer. The problem is that once we are saved, we feel as though every action we take should be perfect. This sets us up for failure. If we could live a perfect life, we would not need God's grace. Even after we understand his grace, we sometimes feel it is not enough for us. The changes are in you. The changes are around you. The changes in you can impact someone around you who may be doubting what God can do. The changes in you may help someone else understand God's grace, forgiveness and his love that can bring change in our lives. If you are a believer, stop waiting on the change. You already have it.