God Changes Us From the Outside In

We talk about God changing people "from the inside out." This is an accurate, biblical way to speak.God is not interested in external moral conformity. God goes after the human heart, the transformation of the total person. Deep sanctification, deep change, happens as the Holy Spirit transforms our heart (our inside), which then transforms our outside.However, I think we should also talk about God changing people "from the outside in." This is also an accurate, biblical way to speak.The gospel, God's sovereign grace, comes from outside of us, not inside of us. And, often, God's greatest means of sculpting us is our circumstances. Circumstances stand outside of us. God sends circumstances into our lives, circumstances full of sharp edges, that prune us into the people God calls us to be.May God change us from the inside out and the outside in.Photo: Salt & Pepper Bridge, Boston, 4th of July 2010.