Extreme Makeover: Heart Edition

He was the doorman at the local “kill the Christian” rock-throwing events. He worked the coat closets at the parties…watching as dozens of crazed idiots threw rocks until those who followed Christ breathed their last. This was Saul’s life...persecuting those who followed Jesus is all he knew.

One would be hard pressed to find a man with a harder heart of stone.

I love the television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This is one show that I find myself glued to each week. I love the show for three reasons: 1) I marvel at how quickly such an incredible transformation can take place. 2) I love to see the magnitude of the change that has been made. 3) My favorite aspect of the show is seeing the reaction of those whose lives have been transformed forever.

Do you remember the way the show always starts? Ty Pennington stands in front of the home of the family whose lives are about to be changed forever and yells in his annoying megaphone, “Good morning, Phillips family!”

I can’t help but think that the scene looked somewhat similar on the dusty road to Damascus that cool morning. “Good morning, Saul of Tarsus!” Saul hits the dirt and goes blind. God had a plan for this Christian killer. The Great Physician did heart surgery that day. As part of Saul’s new look, God changed his name to Paul. Later, Paul became a hero for Christ and eventually penned most of the New Testament.

God has the same plan for you. When you are willing to hand over the keys to your life and allow your Creator to do what He does best, you will be eternally changed. You will: 1) Be transformed into who you were designed to be. 2) Marvel at the person you see in the mirror. It will be difficult to remember who you were before your transformation. 3) Cherish a hope and a peace unlike anything you have ever experienced. Your gratitude for who you have become will be unexplainable.

Think of the before and after pictures that are revealed at the completion of the show. Does your life more closely resemble the before or the after? God longs for you to admit your weaknesses, and at last receive your extreme makeover: heart edition.