What does it mean to pivot? In basketball, the process of keeping one foot firmly planted while moving the other foot a step in any direction is “to pivot”. A business may decide to “pivot” or change directions due to launching a new product or because of advancing technologies. Recovering addicts point to a moment when they hit “rock bottom” and pivot toward recovery. When we speak of our conversion to Christ, what does it mean to pivot?
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee. (Jeremiah 1:5). God has known us for a very long time. Far longer than we have lived here in mortality. We have great value in His eyes.
The first word in this scripture, “before”, indicates there must follow an “after”. In our journey of conversion to Christ, can we point to a “before” and “after” moment?
The Early Saints
The early saints of the New Testament surely had several of these defining moments in their journeys to become whom God had intended them to be. Before they met Jesus, Peter was a fisherman. Matthew was a tax collector. Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed. Paul was a self-righteous Pharisee. Life before meeting the Savior is one thing we all have in common with these icons of New Testament scripture.
During Peter’s mission with the Savior, there were multiple times he had to change, learn, and grow. He doubted; he feared; he denied. Yet, he became a bedrock upon which the early church grew. He healed the sick, performed miracles, and was relentlessly faithful until he also died on the cross.
Matthew, a Jew, worked side by side with the hated Romans collecting their onerous taxes from his fellow countrymen. What led Matthew to this choice of profession? Not only is his transformation remarkable, but he is honored as the author of the first book in the New Testament.
Mary Magdalene has no “before” in the scriptures, merely a mention by Mark and Luke that seven devils possessed her and that Jesus cast them out of her (March 16:9, Luke 8:2). This miracle must have been the first pivot in Mary’s conversion, and she became and remained a devoted disciple of Jesus. She stood by Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the cross. She cried at his tomb, not wishing to be separated from her Lord. And it was to Mary Magdalene that the resurrected Christ first appeared.
Paul was actively persecuting Christians and took part in the martyrdom of Stephen. Until his journey on the road to Damascus, he was a hate-filled, prideful man. Yet, on that journey, he had a vision of the Lord Jesus and pivoted. Paul became a dedicated missionary who consecrated the rest of his life to spreading the gospel.
As each of these faithful saints once did, once we begin our walk with the Savior, we pivot. We change. We become new creatures.
Thou art mine
Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (Isaiah 43:1)
For many years, I believed in a pivot point called “the conversion”. When I decided to be baptized, I believed in the redeeming power of that ordinance. I believed that my sins were forgiven, and I was clean! God had called me, and I knew I was His. Yet, as decades of experience have taught me, “conversion” is not a singular pivot point in time, but thousands of pivot points over a lifetime.
If we were to walk with Peter, Matthew, Mary, or Paul and speak personally of their conversions to Christ, we would hear of many pivot points in their conversion stories. We would hear of faith and failure, of breaking bad habits, and of fear and redemption. They would tell stories that amazingly sound much like our own experiences.
Before and After
We all have a before and an after and we may see ourselves in just those terms. We may fall back into “before” habits or sins and think we have failed beyond hope. As Nicodemus, we may fear what “after” will mean to our lives if we fully commit to living as Christ commands us to live. But God sees us in terms of forever and loves us regardless of where we are on our journey.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin once said, “The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities.” Each pivot, each “before and after” moment, can transform us into the men and women God knows we can become. Let us put our faith in Christ who can guide us safely home.
