My baby was nine months old. That meant it was the day to deck him out in his cutest nerd suit and take him in for a photo. Daniel is 19 now and still a little miffed at me about the red short pants, the suspenders and the little red bow tie, but it was adorable at the time. And I’ll admit it. The fact that the picture has tortured him a little since he hit his teen years is a bit of a bonus.
The picture didn’t come easy though. Baby Daniel had a nagging ear infection. His doctor had pulled out the big guns and put him on a more infection-exploding medicine the day before. I was thrilled he was well enough for pic-shooting.
The photographer finished and I scooped him up to go. But I hadn’t realized that an infection-exploding antibiotic could also be a diaper-exploding antibiotic. “Big guns” was right. I think the generic name for that particular drug is “Gun-Powder-iacin.” I had the baby perched on my hip, so when the explosion sent fallout right out the leg of the diaper it ran all down my right leg. Before I could do anything it flowed right into my shoe. I was digging for my credit card with a poop river flowing into my shoe.
We headed for the car. Step, squish, step, squish, step, squish. By the time I got home we both needed some serious changing. Argh—my favorite shoes.
Jesus brings such welcome changes into our lives. Everyone who comes to Christ comes as a babe—not knowing much about the walk of faith. But the Bible teaches us that by His grace, He begins to change us from the inside out.
Paul said, “Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another … . No! Speaking the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head” (Eph. 4:14-15).
Growing up in Christ means changing, becoming more like Him. I have to confess though, sometimes changing gets messy. Sometimes changing and growing happens through trials, heartache or testing. Still, I never met a baby who never needed to be changed.
I’m so glad my baby never said, “Hey, I like myself this way. Who needs changing?” Every baby is happier when freshly changed than when sitting in the same old yucky diaper. In the same chapter of Ephesians, Paul said, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (verses 22-24).
Let’s allow Christ to change us. It’s an adventurous step in becoming more like Him in righteousness and holiness. Happily, it’s almost always a step without a squish.