Be Converted?

What the heck does it mean to “be converted?” “Repent therefore and be converted…” (Acts 3:19a) This language seems so odd, “be converted.” Religion can be scary and especially when you start using archaic terms that people can’t understand. The terms are not usually the problem but some simple concepts seem to get lost because of the over spiritualization and complication of the ministers. Most preachers like to sound educated and sometimes they talk in lofty loo language. Have you ever had a teacher who was so “smart” that you could hardly understand a word they were saying? Well I don’t think God is like that even though many times “His people” seem to be. So anyway I was thinking about this term and trying not to be a “lofty loo” and wondering how I could teach what I hardly understood when the Buddy (the dog) came out. He came to me for some affection and then went and laid on the couch in peace. Needing a break from my intellectual gridlock I went and sat with the dog to give him a pet and a hug and then I understood. This dog has “been converted.” He ‘was born’ into a different environment than a coyote. If he was born in the wild he would not trust me and I’ve never hugged a coyote. They are basically the same except one has been converted. Buddy has learned that we will love and care for him and provide for all his needs. So here’s my story. I was a “bit wild” before I came to God. I was running around like a stray dog wounded and in survival mode. I ran with the pack and we got our needs met and found out that it’s a “dog eat dog world” out there. Even though dogs don’t eat dogs humans are not so kind. But one day I humbled myself and came to God. I found the one I had been avoiding actually loved me and wanted to meet all my needs. When I invited Him into my life I was born into a different environment. Now I go to Him for protection and affection and am no longer wild and fending for myself. It’s a wonderful thing to “be converted” and come to live in the household of God. I was like a spiritual orphan running the streets, but now I have been adopted because I found my family and my Heavenly Father. With all my heart I desire to love and serve Him and He has put me on a much higher level then a dog. I have been given the power, privilege and authority to become His very own Child! How about you?

Matt 18:2-4
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
NKJV