This past election year was really heated. Did you follow the debates? It seemed as if every candidate promised to make things better. The overarching theme throughout the election season was an air of change and hope. I think that is what we all want from life. All the candidates were talking about hope and restoring the American Dream. I believe the American Dream cannot truly be realized apart from the hope and change that comes from a life surrendered to Christ. I believe no law or domestic policy change truly will meet the needs of people; those needs can be met only when we all have the right relationship with God and others.
As we make our way through the Christian life, we constantly must examine how we relate to God and other people. At times, we get things confused. A friend gave me some advice as I began my ministry. He said I must keep my priorities straight. He said I “must be able to love God, like people and use money.” If I keep this in perspective, I will get the most out of my relationships with God and others.

At times, we try to get our needs met from other people. Most of these needs are those that only God can meet. We tend to get our self-worth and approval from the people closest to us. We care about what they think and want them to approve of what we do, but not everyone will approve of us or what we do. Our self-worth can only come from God. The more we begin to realize this, the more freedom we begin to feel. God loves you, and that is all you need. People never will love you as God does. Only God can meet that need in your life. If we begin to love people and their opinions more than God, that will only led to heartache.

Transformation involves more than a moral reformation of character brought about by the power of the truth. It is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing our lives more and more under the influences of the new principles placed in the soul at salvation. In other words, sanctification is the process of perfecting the work begun at salvation, and it extends to the whole person. It is the special function of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work. Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification. It also secures union to Christ and brings the believer into living contact with the truth, where he or she is led to yield to obedience and embrace the promises of God for this life and that which is to come.

Perfect transformation is not attainable in this life. “The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find [their lives] are constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father’s loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. It has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves.” (Hodge’s Outlines). Ask God to show you areas of your life that need to be surrendered and transformed.

We truly can have our needs met if we know what they are and who we are. Our needs tend to flow naturally out of who we are. That is why it is so important for us to get a clear picture of our identity. If we do not know who we are and what we need, we will be looking for our needs to be met in the wrong places. Only God can truly meet the desires of our hearts. Think of ways you can bring change and hope to the people and world around you. Just remember, you might be the only Jesus people ever see.