Article April 24, 1995 Issue

When a life is transformed

Janet Heineman Clements

The Bible gives many examples of individuals whose lives were completely transformed once they were awakened by Christ to see their Godlike identity. Zacchaeus, a tax collector, gave up his dishonest taxing practices and even recompensed fourfold all that he had collected unfairly. Saul changed from being a persecutor of Christians to being one of Christianity's most ardent disciples. An insane man, the Gadarene, was completely healed. (See Luke, chap. 19, Acts, chap. 9, Mark, chap. 5.)

There is a folk story about a prince who was kidnapped as a baby by gypsies. He grew up believing he was a gypsy—living and acting just like them. Later a certain man recognized him as the prince and persuaded the young man to go the king and claim his sonship. The king saw that he was indeed his long-lost son, and the prince then received all that was due him as the king's son. His life was entirely changed through correct identification.

This story is an analogy for the deeper transformation of a life that comes from discovering one's actual, spiritual identity. All the while we think that we are a mortal with various limitations and difficulties, our real identity as God's beloved child is always intact. And it is the Christ, Truth, which Jesus proclaimed, that impels us to claim our spiritual identity.

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