One person turns to Jesus Christ. It may look like a quiet decision, made at home, in a church, or during a private moment of prayer. Yet Jesus tells us that heaven responds with joy when one sinner repents (Luke 15:10).
This is more than adopting a set of beliefs. A new relationship has begun. You have been welcomed by God, and your place in His kingdom has changed. There is something wonderful to discover about what has taken place.
Heaven Is Celebrating Your New Birth
In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a shepherd with one hundred sheep. When one goes missing, the shepherd goes after the lost sheep until he finds it. He then carries it home and invites others to celebrate with him.
Jesus uses that picture to show God’s concern for one lost person. He points to the joy in heaven when a sinner repents. When you turned to Jesus Christ, your decision was not overlooked. Heaven was celebrating your new birth.
There Is a New Kingdom
The change does not end with heaven’s celebration. Colossians 1:13 explains that God has rescued believers from the authority of darkness and transferred them into the kingdom of His Son. Receiving Jesus Christ means that you now belong in a different kingdom.
In Acts 26:15–18, Jesus commissions Saul and describes what happens when people turn to Him: their eyes are opened, they turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.
- Their spiritual eyes are opened.
- They turn from darkness to light.
- They turn from the power of Satan to God.
This new kingdom has practical meaning. It affects how you live, how you love others, and whose direction you choose to follow. The Kingdom of Light is not simply a religious phrase; it is the new reality from which Christian growth begins.
Laying the Foundation
First Peter 2:9 describes believers as people called out of darkness into God’s marvellous light. There is a new sense of belonging and a new purpose: to make His goodness known.
Ephesians 2:8 gives us a crucial foundation: salvation is by grace, through faith, and it is the gift of God. We do not begin this new relationship by trying to prove ourselves worthy. We begin by trusting what Jesus Christ has done for us.
What Sort of Ground Is Your Life Becoming?
Jesus also taught that God’s Word is like seed sown into different kinds of ground (Mark 4:2–9, 13–20). The same good seed is sown, but the results depend on the ground that receives it.
- Wayside ground hears the Word, but it is quickly taken away.
- Stony ground receives the Word gladly, but without deep roots it does not endure.
- Thorny ground allows worries, riches and other desires to crowd out the Word.
- Good ground hears the Word, accepts it and bears fruit.
The point is not to judge other people’s lives. It is to consider the condition of our own hearts. Growth happens where God’s Word is received, accepted and given room to take root.
Growing Deep and Strong® exists to help believers cultivate good ground: hearing God’s Word, welcoming it deeply, and allowing it to produce lasting fruit.
Heaven rejoiced over your new birth. God transferred you into the Kingdom of Light. Salvation was His gift of grace. Now His Word is meant to grow in you.
What sort of ground would you like your life to be?
Carl John Fechner
Founder and Director · Growing Deep and Strong®
Carl’s God-given mandate is to be a catalyst and facilitator in developing people into leaders who disciple others, creating environments where leaders multiply and transform nations. Through Growing Deep and Strong®, he has developed an intentional discipleship pathway to equip people from little or no church background to become society reformers who apply a biblical worldview to every decision in their sphere of influence.
Carl is a follower of Jesus Christ; Founder and Author of the Christian Discipleship and Leadership program called the Growing Deep and Strong® Series. He is also the Founder and Director of Find Your Destiny™.
His mandate is to be a catalyst and facilitator in developing people who will become leaders and disciplers of others and to create an environment that creates leaders that transform nations.
