10-10-19: What Have I Learned?
I’ve lived a long time. There are still times, though, in a moment of exasperation I become quite incredulous with myself because of some mistake I’ve made, or some action I took that I simply know was wrong. In that moment I wonder who I am, what I’ve learned, why I’m a pastor, and just shake my fist at myself! Maybe you’ve had a few of those moments, and maybe they happen more often than we like. How do we break that cycle? How do we overcome?
In Ephesians 4:20, Paul exhorts his readers/listeners to remember what they learned about Christ. They have learned the ways of truth that come from him. What is to be their response? The New Living Translation says, “…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy (Eph. 4:22-24).”
Put off the old, put on the new! If we’re honest, that “putting off the old” is not a one and done kind of experience. The reality for all of us is that we are in a constant journey of recognizing old patterns of thought, old habits, old ways of protecting ourselves, old ways of comforting ourselves, old ways of dealing with loneliness, old ways of satiating our appetites, and on and on it goes. As we recognize those things, we hold them up to the light of what we have learned about Christ, and then we have to decide. Will I continue, or will I let it go? Will I feed my flesh and hold onto my ways, or will I live into the ways of Christ and feed only my new nature in him?
Paul gets really practical, and it should make sense. John Stott in his commentary on Ephesians points out that chapters 4-5 of Ephesians are a stirring reminder that “being, thought and action belong together and must never be separated.” (The Message of Ephesians, 193) What Paul is getting at is that this whole experience of becoming the church requires effort and commitment and must be guided by a daily renewing of our minds. We must think more about what it means to be the church, to be connected to Christ intimately and personally, and let that motivate us to say no to ourselves and yes to Him.
A life of holiness is not something that happens passively. I often have to remind myself that it is not something the fits into my schedule, or worse, can be accomplished after all the rest of my to do list. To live a life of holiness, to live into my new nature means actively saying no to my flesh, my old ways of thinking, my old patterns, and acting differently. It is an active, ongoing pursuit to live into holiness. It is holiness in heart and life that yields to a strong Christian unity. And remember it is this unity and holiness that separates us from the world as the church.
Are you an imitator of God, in everything you do? I’m not there yet. I invite you to recommit to the journey with me. May we all learn to “live a life of love, following the example of Christ (Eph. 5:2).”
Many Blessings on the Remainder of your Week!
Pastor Scott