I was at a family ministry conference last weekend, and among the many things I learned was a song – a song easily taught to a congregation, and especially to children. It has a fantastic message:
Create in me a clean, clean heart.
Create in me a work of art.
Create in me a miracle:
Something good, something beautiful.
You’re not finished with me yet.
You’re not finished with me yet!
By your power, I can change, I can change,
‘Cause you’re not finished with me yet.
The song was written and performed by a group called Rend Collective Experiment, and you can listen to it here. Give it a listen, and you’ll find yourself singing along.
The message is clear, isn’t it? It’s a prayer, based in part on Psalm 51, in which we ask God to make of us something that only he can do: to have a clean heart free from sin, to be a work of art made in God’s image, to be a miracle (which our birth really is), and to be something beautiful – which we are to God, no matter how others (or we ourselves) feel.
Then we affirm two truths: God isn’t finished with us yet, and we can change by his power.
There are times when we feel pretty down about ourselves, or about the human race, but the good news is that if we open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit, he will make us into what he longs for us to be.
Don’t be satisfied with who you are right now, as good or bad as you think you may be; God isn’t finished with us yet. When Jesus died and rose again to save us from sin and bring us into eternal life, he knew we could be transformed – that we would be transformed. God loves us as we are, but he loves us way too much to leave us there.
Don’t settle for the status quo. Let the Lord work in you and make you new from within. You’ll be better off for it, and so will the world!
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51.10, NLT).
