Conversion

         There was a story about two ministers who were talking and one of them was complaining about the presence of a pesky squirrel. It was causing all kinds of messes around the church and was a rather large nuisance. The other minister replies to him. “O, it is easy to get rid of him. All you have to do is baptize the squirrel. Once you baptize him, you will never see him again.” Yes, it is an absurd story but the story is illustrating a common occurrence that when a new believer is often baptized, you seldom see them from then on. Many ministers can readily relate to the story because they have seen it happen time and time again. The new believer slowly begin to fade away from any involvement in church activities. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 

           There might be a number of reasons why the “absence” occurs anywhere from not being saved in the first place to some issues that exist in the life of the new believer. The passage for today is a good reminder of what takes place when a person is moved to change his or her direction in life. First Thessalonians 1:9-10 gives a good description of the conversion process when it says, “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” Paul described the Thessalonian believers of having turned in the direction from idols to serving God. It involved a turning around in the life of the person and a change in direction. In this country and in our culture, most people know full well what the process is especially if they have been brought up in the church or have attended any former meetings in a local church. We all know about walking the aisle, praying at the altar, signing the card and finally being publicly baptized. I was personally baptized four times in my life and that is just a part of my testimony. The final baptism occurred after I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It was only after I had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ that Second Corinthians 5:17 really took place. Psalm 37 describes in another fashion what takes place. Notice the words, “trust, delight, commit and rest.” These are things that take place in the life of any believer especially when they first trust In the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. While many people may be like the “baptized squirrel” who never again darken the doorway of a local church building, the true believer can't help but be around and mingling with other believers and enjoying the worship of God both corporately and individually throughout the whole week. When you get up in the morning and throughout the day, who is it that is the center of your attention? Whom do you think about when trouble comes or when joy comes for that matter? Praise God today for the new life that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Worthy of all praise, honor, majesty, and worship.