Witness the Greatest Before and After!

Don’t you just love good “before and after” photos? Whether it is a room makeover, a beauty makeover, or even a healthy lifestyle makeover, seeing something transformed from the drab, ordinary, every day into something fresh and new is fascinating to see.

I do love before and after photos, especially my own! I’d worked really hard the year before my 60th birthday to try and get healthy—physically, spiritually and emotionally—heading into that sixth decade. My goal… an “after” picture as a beginning marker for the next phase of my life.

When I look at my “before,” picture, it was a lot more casual, a little more messy and reflecting someone pretty out of shape. The work that was in between the before and after was disciplined, deliberate and determined. It was a whole year of waking up each day and being mindful of the things I needed to do that day. It was making a plan… and sticking to that plan. It was determining to stay focused on the things I needed to do to accomplish the end goal.

The “goal” was a private photo shoot with an amazing, international  photographer as a 60th Birthday gift to myself.  This was not just any photographer. She is someone that is a true artist and creates beauty where there is none at times. (Which sort of proves that the beauty was there all along!) 

I had my Cinderella moment and it was amazing! 

Looking around in our world right now I can see that we are seriously in need of a spiritual makeover, a huge “before” before our coming “after.”

We, as God’s Church, the Body of Christ have gotten more casual, a little messy and a pretty out of shape when it comes to doing what Christ has called us to do. Where is our discipline, deliberateness (focus)  and determination?

Folks, there is a great before — and an even greater after yet to come. We are in the before phase now. The before actually began over two thousand years ago:

“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”” John 12:12-13 (KJV)

Jesus was officially “here” at that moment, even though He had been ministering before this point in time. This was the “before” snapshot, the photograph to be held up against the “after” photograph sometime in the future.

We don’t have that “after” photograph yet. We are still in the “waking up each morning and being mindful of the things we need to do each day… making plans to accomplish the purposes of God… and trying our hardest to stick to that plan… staying focused on the ‘after.’ phase.”

What might that “after” look like? God’s Word gives us a clear vision of that coming “after!”

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10 (KJV)

This is the greatest before and after photograph that will ever be taken!

Where do you stand? What is your before? This Holy Week leading up to Easter and the foundation of our eternal hope is the perfect time to start working on your “after.” Whether it may be seeking a closer relationship with Christ, getting back on the bus with rededication to Christ, or possibly coming to know Christ for the first time, we ALL have a decision to make.

I pray that you will take the time during this period of Christ’s last week of “waking up each morning and being mindful of the things He needed to do each day… making plans to accomplish the purposes of His Father God… and faithfully sticking to that plan… staying focused on the ‘after.’ all the way to the cross!” to take a look at your life and where you stand in the scheme of eternity and God’s amazing, great plan for your life!

God bless you!

~~~

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 {KJV})