Tag Archives: new creation

Who are you?

 

Recently, I’ve been thinking on what happens to our bodies, soul, and spirit when we die. We know the body goes to the grave and decays or is cremated and ashes scattered. But what should we think about the rest? Who will we be in heaven? And how does that relate to who we are now?

I confess that my early view of heaven was heavily shaped by popular media. The whole idea of ghosts walking around or being changed from humans to Angels, the bit about the fluffy white clouds and harps, the pearly gates was all I knew. Most of it came from wishful thinking. There’s a lot of things I wish were true. But wishful thinking doesn’t make them true. When it comes to our understanding of heaven or who we are now, we need to turn to the author and creator of both. It’s God’s view that matters, not our wishful ideas.

We learn from God’s Word that our soul and spirit go immediately to heaven (to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord). We read also that we will have resurrected bodies that are wonderful in every way. (Look in the mirror and imagine that!)

But in reading what the bible has to say about heaven, what piece of it we can know now, it occurs to me that I need to better understand who I am now. Like you, I was created and born into this world with mind, body, emotions! and soul. They’ve all grown and matured since those baby days, and continue to change in response to aging. I used to think that we all were spiritual beings living in a temporary earthly body, like hermit crabs, having a living organism inside a temporary shell- like body. But God’s Word persuades me to see myself as body, soul, mind, and spirit all completely intertwined, and that it will be this way not only from birth to death, but in heaven too.  It is what defines me both now and forever, except for the miserably corrupt parts from which will be removed when I die. But in the middle of this process…

Something changed!

As a teenager, I recognized my inability to conquer sin on my own and asked Jesus to save me and be my Lord. At once and over time, I became, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 5:17, a “new creation.” “The old has gone and the new has come.” But even though I was now a “new creation” people still recognized me, and looking in the mirror, I seemed quite the same. As Randy Alcorn describes his own conversion experience, “I was a new person, and yet I was the same person I’d always been.”

Becoming a Christian doesn’t eliminate who we once were, it transforms us.

What was new was my way of perceiving myself and the world around me, along with my response to that new view. Seeing things through God’s eyes renews my minds and transforms my mind. But still, we continue through birth, salvation, life on earth, death, and resurrection as the mind-body-soul God uniquely created in us. We live one continuous life, destined toward God.

Thankfully, our minds and bodies will be perfectly redeemed in ways we long for but can’t understand. Joni Eareckson Tada explains: “Somewhere in my broken paralyzed body is the seed of what I will become. The paralysis makes what I am to become all the more grand when you contrast atrophied, useless legs against splendor out resurrected legs. I’m convinced that if there are mirrors in heaven (and why not?) the image I’ll see will be in mistakenly “Joni,” although a much better, brighter Joni.” Randy Alcorn, in his book Heaven, concludes: “Inside your body, even if it is failing, is the blueprint for your resurrection body. You may not be satisfied with your current body or mind but you’ll be thrilled with your resurrection upgrades. With them you’ll be better able to serve and glorify God and enjoy an eternity of wonders he has prepared for you.”

Think on that for a moment. In heaven you will become who you were always meant to be. God created you in a specific way and for a specific for a purpose, to enjoy and serve him now and forever in heaven. Who I am is not a compartmentalized collection of work, family, leisure interests, and spirit. We have just one life to live that connects who we are now to who we will be forever in heaven.  I want to live with that in mind. How about you?

 

Are you a new creation?

 

It seems a common plight that many ask Jesus to save them but don’t surrender their lives totally to his authority. It’s like asking to be under the protection of the army but not wanting to submit to its requirements. Or signing up to join your country’s army but actually fighting for the enemy. We want to be saved from hell and yet keep living as we did before. Asking Jesus into our lives means asking him to be our Savior AND our Lord. We tend to resist his lordship because we think we can handle our own life pretty well.

 

The Navigator’s Topical Memory System, starts with a category called “Christ the Center.” If we want Jesus to protect and provide for us, he can’t merely reside on the fringes of our life. To experience the fullness of his power, we need him to be in the center of our life, over all our activities, ambitions and desires. The first verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17, is central to the Christian life:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come.”

 

It’s a basic verse for new believers that continues to challenge mature believers. “A new creation” bears the image of the total transformation we see in a caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly. If you look at a caterpillar next to a butterfly, you’d have to admit they look and act completely differently. So should our lives as Christians look and act different from our life before Christ.

 

Or think of it in the context of marriage. Before marriage, there was “you” and “me,” two separate beings. But once you’ve committed to a lifetime marriage there is a new creation called “us.” And at the top of our priority list is preserving and nurturing “us” according to God’s plan. “We” is different than “you and me.”

 

Let’s look at the second verse, Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

Can you imagine yourself on the cross next to Jesus, enduring the same pain as you were crucified with him? And yet this seems to required of the “new creation.” It’s not just matter of becoming a better Christian by our own effort. It’s dying to self in order for Christ to live in us. Returning to the illustration of the caterpillar, the creature that crawls into the cocoon is totally transformed as one part becomes an antennae, another wings, All the parts of the old creation are crucified or utterly put to death in order for the new creation to take life and fly to new heights.

 

I thought of this illustration as I  suffered through a harsh chemotherapy treatment that “crucified” my old immune system, the core element of my life, in order to receive a stem cell transplant that would change my DNA from B+ blood to O+ and allow me the chance for new life. The old was gone the new had come. My donor’s blood, the essence of his being, had come to reside in my body for as long as I live. And so Jesus comes to live in our body for as long as we live, in the form of his Holy Spirit.

 

He lives in the body and heart of every Christian. It’s his authority and over us that transforms us into a new creation. Try as we like we simply cannot achieve it in our own wisdom and power. The question is whether we submit to his authority or not. Living without the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit is very much like a child trying to join a fierce battle without the guiding influence of the commanding officer.

 

Are you a new creation depending daily on the power of the Spirit in all aspects of your life? Or are you desperately throwing punches at the air, trying to go it alone?  Simply ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and help you to listen to his voice. Find the peace and victory of being a new creation in Christ.

 

 

 

God’s purpose … Or yours?

 

It seems we all search for meaning. We have this desire to live meaningful lives. We want to understand the meaning of suffering in our lives. Victor Frankl, who endured the harsh reality of a Nazi concentration camp observed, “We can endure any ‘How’ of life if we have a ‘Why'”. (Man’s Search for Meaning) But so often, it seems the ‘Why’ eludes us, so we keep searching.

 

The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us of our eternal condition and prompt us to turn to Jesus to be ‘saved’ only to live our lives much the same as before. Such a decision involves making a swap, the old self for a new one, the old desires and ambitions for new ones. We aren’t offered an eternal insurance policy so we can go on living dangerously as before. We were called to change and become “new creations.” We see that in the disciples who dropped everything in order to follow Jesus. They were called to a new and higher purpose.

 

Jesus tells us there is a cost to following him that involves denying ourselves, picking up our cross, and following him wherever he goes…even to the cross. Following him requires swapping our self-seeking purpose in life for his purpose. And it’s a good purpose for living life well, in peace and harmony. But it requires a change in our plans, our lifestyles, and our habits.

 

Following Jesus also challenges us to change our beliefs and purpose in life, even our purpose for this very day. Society tells us to check off our organized to-do list, get ahead, grab what we can, build ourselves up, accumulate possessions, enjoy pursue happiness at all costs, live in comfort, even luxury. Scripture teaches that God’s plan and purpose for us is to be humble and generous, putting other’s interests before our own, living sacrificially, God-centered not self-centered.

 

Seeking first the kingdom of God requires that we seek his purpose for our lives. God’s purpose for us isn’t fame or fortune. And I don’t know anyone who willingly chooses cancer, chronic pain, rejection, or loneliness as their purpose in life. But God has a purpose for us to live as fully his even in those conditions.

 

Abraham was ‘fully persuaded’ that God was able to do what he had promised, and lived according to God’s purpose. Following Jesus requires a purpose in living that also is fully persuaded that God’s plan is better than our own.

 

Being fully persuaded means that even our small choices demonstrate whether we are following him or going our own way. Choices like becoming frustrated at small things or practicing patience; criticizing others or encouraging them.  When God reveals his truth in our lives it illuminates his purpose for us. And this always requires making adjustments to how we think and act and how we see our purpose. Seek a great purpose in living today, one filled with meaning and eternal reward.

 

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.”

Matthew 16:24-27

 

 

Be transformed

 

 

Stained Glass Monarchs - Thayerapy Gardens

‘Stained Glass Cathedrals’ – Thayerapy Gardens

Monarchs are the quintessential butterfly, easily recognized and greatly appreciated. I find it hard to imagine any stained glass cathedral more beautifully designed. I’m certainly delighted I came across these three in my gardens one day as evening was approaching!

 

But these gorgeous creations were not always so abundantly graced with beauty. As you know, they started out as common caterpillars. As they approach adulthood, their hormones change and they form a cocoon, hooked to the underside of a leaf. They turn around and lower themselves into the cocoon and prepare for a metamorphic process that will totally transform their life!

 

Inside the chrysalis, enzymes are released creating a chemical soup that totally consumes and digests the caterpillar’s body. If you were to interrupt this process too early you might conclude that the life of the caterpillar had ended. There would be nothing left to resemble its original form. But inside the body of the caterpillar sets of embryonic cells called ‘imaginal disks’ grow to form completely new parts  never seen before: wings, legs, antennae, and organs of the newly created butterfly. Nothing like this happens in vertebrate creation. But here in the life and seeming death of a simple caterpillar, a beautiful new creation is made.

 

Believe it or not, we are intended to go through this same process. We are designed to mature, turn around from our selfish ways, connect to God, and become transformed spiritually.  This process requires us to die to self and allow ourselves to be surrounded by His  creative and life-transforming grace. In our case of course, the outer shell of our body looks the same. But the spiritual rebirth manifests itself in a totally new creation. At least this is how it is intended. Calling ourselves Christian doesn’t make us followers of Christ any more than a caterpillar saying, “I can fly!”  But submitting ourselves to God’s transformational power creates a totally new life, one with power to soar on new wings and to reflect His glory. At last, you are no longer a crawling thing, but a new creation with a God-given purpose for an adventurous and fulfilling life!

 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

 

 

A Reflection on Six Months with Leukemia

Six months ago today I received an 8:00 a.m. phone call from my hematologist. His conversation opened with three words: “You have Leukemia.” I remember thinking that couldn’t be but Leukemia it was, and later revealed to be the 12th diagnosis of this particular form of Leukemia in the world, meaning we were entering unknown territory.

What followed in this unexpected journey was an adventure I would not have chosen, but also one which would reveal truths and blessings I could not have discovered on any other path. Through the various pains that come with treatment of this rare chromosomal condition, I achieved first remission of the cancer at the end of January (Four months cancer-free now!).

In March, I made the toughest decision of my life. After challenging the doctors on every front, I was finally convinced that even though I was in remission, this particular cancer was so aggressive that it would most certainly return unless I had a stem cell transplant, which required a higher dose and level of chemo drugs which would also bring about my greater challenges. And so Galatians 2:20 has become very personal to me (“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”) I had to completely kill my immune system and my DNA before I knew if the donor cells would successfully engraft in my body. While aware of the spiritual implications of a born again believer being such an imperfect host for the Spirit of Christ, I now had to face the reality of being a completely vulnerable host to my donor’s new cells. Where I had surrendered (oh so imperfectly) my identity to Jesus, I was now surrendering my DNA identity and very physical survival to this new donor process.

There are no guarantees but two months later, the process seems to be going exceptionally well. Yes, one infection can set it all back; even become an end-of-game scenario. But we sincerely believe –and are planning on – continuing the ministry God will grant us for other twenty or more years, including a delayed return to Bolivia for full-time missions.

It’s been a hard enough battle and one I would not want to repeat, though probably mild in comparison to some other’s struggles. But I have come to be thankful for the cancer that has brought me to experience the powerful truths of God’s Word. What I accepted in faith before has been tested and found to be true in very practical ways:

  • His grace IS sufficient for me.
  • His strength IS revealed in my weakness.
  • His mercy IS new every single morning.
  • His presence in me IS able to calm me even as the storm rages within me.
  • I CAN overcome the challenges of life if I am truly a new creation.

TODAY can be different. You don’t have to have a major life crisis to change your path and pursue a full and meaningful life. What challenges are you ready to turn over to God, once and for all and pursue a relationship with Him that allows you to trust Him more?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17