Metamorphosis

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

METAMORPHOSIS

 

Acts 26:19-32

19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles." 24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane." 25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do." 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" 29 Paul replied, "Short time or long — I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." 30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment." 32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

NIV

Paul had finished his testimony, at which point Governor Festus shouted at Paul, charging that he was out of his mind and that his great learning had driven him insane. It is remarkable how the world, or the people of the world who pursue knowledge, who believe the more degrees one has, the more prestigious one is, think that a Christian who has learned the truth is insane. But that is not the narrative that has the greatest impact on our lives. Paul gives the credit to God that he was able to stand before Governor Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice, and any of the people in the court and testify about repenting and turning to God, with the fact that the prophets and Moses spoke about Jesus suffering and being the first to rise from the dead. That is where we come into this story. First, we have repented, which the Greek word used here is metanoeo, which is where we get the word metamorphosis, to go through a change, but in the context, it means to have a change in the way we think. Interestingly, that must apply to every person who turns to God or professes to be a Christian, a believer, or a follower of Jesus. It is not our human nature at birth to believe in Jesus. Still, at some point in our lives, whether that is in our early or later years of life, we must go through this change of mind, this metanoeo, repentance, turning to God, and prove that we have changed the way we think by our works, or the way we behave, how we act towards others. We wonder how, once we have gone through the metamorphosis in our thinking, we change the way we think from being self-reliant, self-centered, self-exalting to being reliant on God, centering our lives on God, and exalting God, we could go back to the self-centered life. Yet we wonder whether we still think about ourselves too much, which might indicate that we have not fully repented or changed the way we think. However, there is this other truth that Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead, which means there are going to be a second, third, and so on up to thousands or millions who will be raised from the dead, including the righteous and the wicked, to stand before God. However, to be among the ones to enter into his rest, we must have gone through a metamorphosis.