"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

February 21, 2026

Dear friends,

For so many years I have been accustomed to sharing my testimony in a B.C./A.D. fashion. That is, what my life was like before meeting Christ, and then, the changes that Christ has made since my conversion. Sometimes it sounded like, “before Christ, all bad; afterwards, all good.”

This makes some sense in light of the Apostle Paul's own statement here: "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14; see also Acts 26:18). And maybe if you have two minutes to share with someone, that’s a good summary.

But Paul also recognized that God had set him apart before his birth, even before he was called by grace (Galatians 1:15). This included what we would call common grace, such as the excellent training he received, in both rabbinic and Hellenistic studies, along with Roman citizenship, which were no small matters. He used these things for the glory of God in his life and ministry.

The other day I was thinking about this passage from Herman Bavinck... "The essence of the Christian religion consists in the reality that the creation of the Father, ruined by sin, is restored in the death of the Son of God and re-created by the grace of the Holy Spirit into a kingdom of God. Dogmatics shows us how God, who is all-sufficient in himself, nevertheless glorifies himself in his creation, which, even when it is torn apart by sin, is gathered up again in Christ." (Reformed Dogmatics, I:112)

In my upbringing, even as an unbeliever, I had a deep appreciation for the beauty of the creation of the Father, and also a growing awareness of its ruin by sin. In my teenage and college years I began to see that defilement, and that the primary ruin was in my own heart. Though blinded in my own sin, yet I enjoyed God's creation, and the arts, especially reading and writing and music. I had many advantages in education, friendships, and privileges, though I grew increasingly rebellious toward all authority. Yet God was at work, being merciful and longsuffering toward me, though I was largely unaware of (and unthankful for) his kindness.

Just one example, a case in point, God placed a man in my life, a 4-H extension agent, who helped with our horse club, and later with a school science club, when I was not yet a Christian. Later, he became a valuable mentor to me when I became a Christian. He was uniquely placed (divinely so) as a disciple-maker ahead of time to be there when I needed him. As well, other difficult situations that I went through, like my parents' divorce, later became a platform for understanding the pain others were going through. These were things the Lord allowed in my life for later usefulness.

Then, at age 20 I called on the Lord and was reconciled to God through Christ, or to use Bavinck's phrase, restored in the death of the Son of God. From darkness to light. Transferred to the kingdom of God's beloved Son. From unsaved to saved. This was a very real change. As Charles Wesley wrote,

"Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee."

Since then, my Christian life has been about spiritual transformation, or re-creation by the grace of the Holy Spirit (Bavinck's words). God is being glorified in building us into a kingdom, re-creating that which was torn apart by sin and gathering it up again in Christ. What a life goal -- taking what is torn apart by sin and gathering it up again in Christ! That’s the Christian life.

Though my life has two parts, BC and AD, God's fingerprints have been there, before and after. Before my conversion and afterwards, my life had a Trinitarian shape: from creation to cross to re-creation. God didn’t wake up the day I was saved, and his work wasn’t finished the day after I was saved. It’s a story line, and I’m the one who woke up! But God was at work for good even when I was going the wrong direction.

That's it for this week!

Sandy

Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.