What's Gonna Change This Year?

Busyness. Days begin to blend into one another and before we know it, another year is gone. Television, games, and social media provide hours of distraction which covertly compete with our schedules, eroding chunks of time. It is easy to become anesthetized. 

One litmus test for anyone who identifies himself or herself as a Christian is: How has Christ changed you in the last six months?

If there is no discernible difference, then we need to question if we are truly a Christian. Christ came to transform lives for eternity. He did not die a horrible death on a Roman cross and bear the brunt of God's justice for all our sins, just so we could practice a greeting-card religion. It is not simply about being "nice" or making sure our good deeds outnumber our bad. It is about being transformed through surrender and the good works will naturally follow.

When we are numbed by the busyness of our lives, we stop paying attention to who we are and where we are. We become desensitized to Christ's daily leading and this stagnates  change. 

Jesus does not offer easy options, but they are straightforward. If I'm not surrendered to His agenda to transform me, then how can I refer to myself as a Christian? If I'm not being changed, then I'm not following Him.