Converted?

Converted?

If you interviewed a much younger version of myself and asked me to name three things that 
would never change about me, I would have listed the following three things: Ford was the best
truck, opening day of hunting season was non-negotiable, and church was three times a week.
These were beyond debate or discussion. Now, a few years later, all three have fallen far down
my hierarchy of absolutes. Does that mean I was converted to other ideas and hobbies? Does
it mean that I compromised my values?

All it really means is that my priorities changed as I grew older, and in one case my culture
changed. And so, I now drive whatever suits my need and budget, I don’t hunt very much
anymore, and churches do not meet three times a week in my current context. I changed, but I
did not convert to another passion in any of those cases.

A conversion means that I swapped priorities and passionately pursued the new one. If I had
become convinced that Chevy makes a better truck and argued that with passion, I would have
been a Chevy convert. In our faith life, when we convert, we are supposed to swap our passion
for self for a passion for Christ. However, I am afraid that instead of converting, we often simply
change and acquiesce to a more acceptable place in our culture.

Why do I say this? Because conversion carries with it a necessary passion. I am different. I
have changed. My opinions have a new source. We become champions for something else. It
is the difference between a sold-out disciple of Christ and a Church attender.

For brevity’s sake, I will leave you with one key question. Are you converted or simply
changed? I think the answer could make a world of difference.