One Final Question

As you come to the final pages of Changed, my prayer is not that you remember every sentence I have written, but that you remember Jesus Christ and the work He desires to accomplish in every surrendered heart. This book began with a question that became deeply personal to me, and that question has remained at the center of everything I have shared with you: Has Jesus truly changed me?

That question became even more meaningful as I reflected on the song Different by Micah Tyler. The song challenged me to think about what it really means to live differently because of Jesus. It reminded me that following Christ is not simply about appearing different from the people around us. It is about allowing Jesus to change who we are on the inside until our lives begin to reflect Him.

For me, that question carries another layer because I am autistic. I have spent much of my life knowing what it feels like to experience the world differently, to process things differently, and to see details or patterns that other people may not always notice. There have been times when those differences made me feel misunderstood, isolated, or as though I needed to become someone else in order to be accepted.

Over time, however, Jesus began teaching me something important. Being autistic is not the same thing as being spiritually changed, and being different is not the same thing as being transformed. My autism is part of my experience of the world, but my identity does not begin or end there. My identity is found in Jesus Christ. He does not ask me to pretend that I am someone else. He calls me to surrender who I am to Him and allow Him to transform my heart, my character, my choices, and the way I love others.

I do not need to become someone else to belong to Jesus. I need to allow Jesus to change me.

That distinction matters because there is a difference between trying to change ourselves so that other people will accept us and allowing Jesus Christ to transform us because we love Him. One is driven by the desire for approval. The other is driven by surrender. One asks, “How can I become more like everyone else?” The other asks, “Jesus, what do You want to change in me?”

Throughout this book, we have considered what genuine transformation looks like. We have talked about the heart, surrender, obedience, temptation, spiritual growth, standing alone, and learning to live differently because Jesus has changed us. None of these things are about becoming perfect. They are about becoming more surrendered to the One who is perfect.

The world often tells us that change means becoming a better version of ourselves. The gospel tells us something much deeper. Jesus does not simply polish the outside of our lives while leaving the heart untouched. He calls us into a relationship with Him in which our hearts, desires, priorities, attitudes, and actions are continually being transformed.

There have been times when I wanted people to understand me, and there have been times when I desperately wanted to explain myself so that others would see what I was trying to communicate. Yet Jesus has repeatedly brought me back to a simpler truth. My life does not have to be understood by everyone for it to belong to Him. I do not have to win every argument, receive everyone's approval, or prove my worth to every person who misunderstands me.

I simply need to remain faithful to Jesus.

That does not mean the struggles disappear. It means I no longer have to face those struggles without Him. There are still moments when I become frustrated, overwhelmed, discouraged, misunderstood, or tempted to respond from hurt instead of grace. Being changed does not mean that I never struggle again. It means that I have somewhere to take the struggle, and I have Someone who continues to work on my heart when I recognize that I have fallen short.

This is why the Christian life cannot be reduced to outward behavior. We can learn the right words, attend the right services, know the right Scriptures, and still avoid the deeper work Jesus wants to do within us. True transformation reaches the places that other people cannot see. It changes what happens when no one is watching. It changes how we respond when we are hurt. It changes how we treat people who cannot give us anything in return. It changes what we do when obedience becomes difficult.

Jesus is not simply interested in making us look different. He wants to make us new.

That Is The Heart Of Changed.

I did not write this book because I believe I have mastered transformation. I wrote it because I am still being transformed. I am still learning to listen when Jesus speaks, still learning to surrender what I want, still learning to trust Him when I do not understand what He is doing, and still learning that obedience matters even when it costs me something.

My autism has been part of that journey because it has shaped the way I experience people, communication, relationships, and the world around me. There are things I have had to learn about myself, and there are things I have had to surrender to Jesus. But I have also learned that I do not have to be ashamed of being different. I can bring my whole self before Christ and trust Him to shape me according to His purpose.

Perhaps that is part of what Different caused me to wrestle with when I first heard it. I began asking whether I was simply different or whether I was actually changed. Those are not the same question. Being different may describe how someone experiences life, but being changed describes what Jesus is doing within the heart.

That is the question I leave with you.

If you have followed Jesus for years, do not become so familiar with Christianity that you stop allowing Him to change you. Continue surrendering your heart to Him, continue seeking Him, and continue allowing His Word to challenge you. If you are struggling with sin, disappointment, doubt, or weakness, do not believe that your struggle means God has abandoned you. Bring it to Him. If you are still searching and do not know whether you truly belong to Christ, do not be afraid to seek Him honestly. He is not threatened by your questions, and He is not finished with the person who is willing to come to Him.

And if you have spent your life feeling different, misunderstood, overlooked, or as though you never quite fit into the world around you, I hope you remember something that has become deeply important to me. You do not have to become someone else simply to be worthy of love. You do not have to erase every difference in order to belong. Bring your life, your story, your weaknesses, your strengths, your questions, and your differences before Jesus and allow Him to do His work in you.

The goal is not to become someone else's version of normal. The goal is to become the person Jesus is calling you to be.

Let Jesus Be Seen In You.

That is where this journey ultimately leads. The more Jesus changes us, the less our lives are centered on ourselves and the more they begin to point toward Him. Our lives become a testimony, not because we have become perfect, but because people can see that something has happened within us that we could never accomplish on our own.

When people see me, I want them to see more than my autism, more than my personality, more than my mistakes, more than my past, and more than the things that make me different. I want them to see a man who is being changed by Jesus Christ.

When my story is remembered, I do not want the greatest thing said about me to be that I was successful, intelligent, different, strong, or even talented. I want it to be said that I loved Jesus, that I trusted Him, that I surrendered my life to Him, and that His presence changed the way I lived.

The greatest evidence of a changed life is not that people see us. It is that they can see Jesus in us.

My journey is not finished, and neither is yours. The final page of this book does not mean the end of the work Jesus is doing. There will still be days when I need grace, days when I need correction, days when I need forgiveness, and days when I simply need to stop and remember that I belong to Him.

That is why I do not want to end this book by telling you that you have arrived. I want to encourage you to keep walking. Keep listening. Keep surrendering. Keep trusting. Keep allowing Jesus to change you.

Because being changed by Jesus is not a single moment that we celebrate and then leave behind. It is a life surrendered to Him, one day at a time.

One Final Question

Has Jesus truly changed you?

If you can answer yes, then keep walking with Him and never stop allowing Him to transform you. If your answer is no, or if you honestly do not know, do not walk away from the question. Take it to Jesus. Seek Him. Talk to Him. Open His Word. Surrender your heart to Him and allow Him to show you what needs to change.

And when you discover that there is still work to be done in you, do not lose hope. There is still grace. There is still mercy. There is still purpose. The One who began the work is still working.

So as you close this book, I invite you to do more than remember its words. Take the question with you. Let it follow you into your home, your workplace, your relationships, your church, your private thoughts, and the moments when nobody else is watching.

Ask yourself honestly whether your life reflects Jesus Christ.

Then surrender the answer to Him.

To Jesus Christ Be All The Glory.