“You were taught, with
regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your
minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness.” Galatians 4:22-24
Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth makes the
statement in chapter 5, verse 17 that we are now a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new. His letter to the church in Galatia says
something similar, however, goes one step further by declaring that our new
self was created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. I have said before that it’s to be understood
that our salvation was designed to mean something special to us. It shouldn’t be business as usual after we’ve
asked for and received forgiveness from God.
A hefty price was paid for our freedom from sin. Too high a price for us to shrug off a major
shift in our lifestyle. Our attitude
should change. Our desires should begin
to line up with God’s desires for us.
Our old, corrupt, deceitful self must die. In order to do that we must relinquish
control of the reins and allow the Holy Spirit to steer the carriage.
If we make no change to our conduct or our way of thinking
then we have made Christ’s death useless, at least to us. The fact that Jesus bled and died for you
should humble you and bring you to a place of submission. So many folks are unwilling to give up those things
that seem so incredibly important to them, not realizing that the eternal
destination of their soul is at stake.
Disbelieve in God if you choose. Consider scripture a myth or fairy tale if
you wish. To that I offer a quote from
Albert Camus1: “I would rather
live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live as
if there isn't and to die to find out that there is.” Camus was not a
Christian as far as I can discern, however, his quote is very poignant. For us, to live our lives as if there were a
God may mean something different from what Camus had in mind, but nonetheless,
that doesn’t diminish the incisiveness of his observation. Our lives as
Christians should be a reflection of Christ.
Is it? Ask the Lord to help you
be more like His Son in this life. This
is how we can truly change the world, through godly actions, not merely by
words. Until next time, walk with the
King and be a blessing!
1 Albert
Camus was a French Nobel Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher.
