You Make All Things New

Let's rewind 3 years... My first trip to Africa our team partnered with a church here in the city. I was told immediately when I arrived that I should request an African name. I did and the name I was given was Birungi. They take what you have impressed to them and what they think of you and give you a name according to that. The meaning of Birungi is: bringer of good things. I was incredibly flattered by the ladies who gave me this name. But honestly, since that first trip I haven't thought much about that name, or the honor that it was to be given it.

Fast forward to today... We were driving down a typical African street which consists of about a million shops, stores, and stands, with even more signs everywhere. So even if you are reading signs constantly, you might only see 10% of the signs you pass. But when God wants you to see something, He makes it stand out. So what sign did I see today... A tiny sign on the side of the road that said Birungi.

God brought back all those memories of sitting with 2 wonderful ladies at a local restaurant and them thinking over my character and picking out this amazing name for me. It is a somewhat common practice in Uganda to receive a new name when you are born again. It was also common in the Bible. When people had encounters with God, they were so radically changed by the experience that they were given a new name, a whole new identity.

Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Saul became Paul.

I started thinking over my life. Has God made such an impact in my life that I am not at all the same person I was before I encountered Him? My life should be radically different. When God enters your life, you should be shaken up, turned around, and so changed that you can't even go by the same name anymore.

God says that in Christ we are a new creation, behold the old has passed away and the new has come.

Is there anything in my life that still looks like the old? I challenge you as I challenge myself. Allow God to take the old and make it brand new. Allow those things that are not of Him and His character to be pruned from your life.

until all have heard,
lauren michelle (Birungi) gross