Does It Change Your Life?

I would like to emphasize that going to church and having a relationship with God are very different things. Sometimes people attend church and thereby ease their consciences, thinking that this is how they fulfill their duty to God. Afterward, they go about their lives without giving much thought to whether their conduct pleases God.

In Cuba, we have seen in recent years how much more easily and regularly people attend church. Filling a church when we had a special event was a daunting task years ago! But times have changed, and people attend more readily. Likewise, many more freely and with less fear acknowledge and identify themselves as Christians. Yet some may call themselves Christians a little too lightly, without fully understanding or being willing to truly follow Jesus Christ.

There is an enormous difference between being nominal Christians and being authentic Christians. For some, calling themselves Christians is like putting on a suit that they wear or take off depending on the day, the place they are in, or the need that arises. The Bible says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

A person who says they are a Christian should have repented of their sins, accepted Christ as their personal Savior and, from that moment on, been willing to undergo a substantial change in their conduct that goes beyond merely calling themselves a Christian.

When the Spirit of God enters a heart, he begins to transform us into a new person, changing our conduct, habits, relationships, feelings, priorities and, of course, even the way we speak or dress.

It is impossible to know Christ and continue living just as we did before inviting him to be the Lord of our lives. Although the process of learning to live as Christians is slow and, in fact, takes a lifetime, it has one essential characteristic that is present in everyone who truly experiences conversion to Christ: our greatest desire is to act in ways that please God, and we reject everything in our former lives that drew us away from God and his love. Do you feel that? That deep longing to be transformed, more than the mere habit of attending church, is the strongest evidence that a true conversion is taking place within you.

God bless you all!