Before & After, 1 John 5:6-12

I love seeing a house transformed from lifeless to energized, and I always smile at a homeowner’s shock that it was even possible. 

But I’ve never gasped in delight about the electric being rewired (Before, it was a mangled fire hazard, but now just look how orderly and straight it is!). I haven’t shaken my head in wonder because the water heater was replaced (Before, only the early risers got hot showers, but now even the teenagers do!). I haven’t sat down to take in the details about the HVAC being installed (Before, we would shiver in winter and sweat in summer!). As major as these changes are, they just don’t have the visual appeal I’m expecting.

Salvation testimonies are before and after stories, and we love to hear about drastic visible changes in a life. And we should! But the primary changes in salvation are unseen realities that tend to be forgotten behind the drywall of visible change. Children who grow up learning about Jesus and who trust Him at early ages must be reassured that before and after is first spiritual, or we’ve done a disservice to our kids in the church service. 

Platforming only the type of testimonies that have visible before and after changes, raises doubts in children and teens about whether their salvation experience is as valid as someone who has a lifestyle transformation story; they feel pressured to concoct a before about themselves; they’re convinced that - at best - their testimony is just plain boring, and - at worst - invalid. As parents or grandparents, youth workers or pastors, we can play a role by celebrating the spiritual before and after testimony just as wildly as we applaud a visible before and after.

Before, I was lost, but now I’m found.  Luke 15:24

Before, I was dead, but now I’m alive.   Ephesians 2:4,5

Before, I was far from God, but now I’m near.  Ephesians 2:13

Before, I was in debt, but now I’m forgiven.  Colossians 2:13-15

Before, I was enslaved, but now I’m freed.  Hebrews 2:14,15

Any changes Christ makes in our lives are reasons for joy and evidence of His presence, but our individual stories are not the foundation upon which the truth of Jesus ultimately rests. In chapter 5:6-12, John takes us from analyzing our lives and turns our attention outside of ourselves to the identity of the One who is the foundation of our eternal life.

Jesus is not the Messiah because He changed my life and fulfilled me; 

Jesus is the Messiah because He gave His life and fulfilled prophecy.

Jesus isn’t the Chosen One because I picked Him over Muhammed or Buddah; 

He’s Chosen because the Father declared it and the Spirit affirmed it. 

Jesus isn’t the payment for sin because I feel forgiven and free; 

Jesus is the payment for sin because the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world.

These three striking testimonies - the Spirit, the water, and the blood - define Jesus, upholding and uniting our various individual testimonies as the common ground we share by faith in Him. 

Have you celebrated your own spiritual before & after? Have you ever encouraged a teen who confessed Christ as a child by celebrating their spiritual before & after?