What Was Is Not What Is

Last night at my weekly accountability group meeting, we talked about that moment when the 'old things passed away and the new had come'; when we drove a stake in the timeline of eternity that delineated past and present. For some, that moment can be literally remembered down to the minute as though a 'road to Damascus' experience. For others, it is more nebulous for their 'passing away' and being 'reborn in the spirit' were less dramatic more gradual processes.

We came to this discussion as part of our investigation into the parable of the sower. As we talked about how the different soils yielded different harvests, or none at all, one of the men present likened his heart to the shallow soil and pondered whether that would explain the lack of depth he perceives in his current relationship with God. As we tried to get to the 'meat of the matter' we talked of the moment described above, when first we believed.

Though our individual awakenings were different, we all started in the same place. We started in a place that is normally thought of as the end, not a beginning. That place was death. In our sinfulness, we were dead; walking dead but dead nonetheless. Of course in this context, we speak of death in terms of our moral state. We were lifeless and devoid of everything holy, heavenly, spiritual or divine. We had neither interest nor participation in the life that God intended for us; one of holiness, purity, wisdom and goodness. Though present in life, we walked in darkness utterly contemptuous of the glorious light of God's perfection and utterly disdainful of those who walked with Him therein. We had no part in God.

The Apostle Paul was familiar with people such as me. Consider this passage;

Ephesians 2:1-2 (NIV)
¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

This accurately described the state of my being, then. It reminds me too that even now there are others who languish still in the throes of death. Paul continues with an acknowledgment that we all share this same heritage. He writes...

Ephesians 2:3 (NIV)
³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

All have sinned, all have lived among the dead at one time, all have pursued the gratification of the sinful nature responding to their nature as though it were right and acceptable; behaving as mere animals. Though created in the image of God we have all lowered ourselves to equality with the beasts of the field. And as such, being carnal and selfish and dead, we were condemned by The Law and became the objects of God's holy wrath.

What a dire predicament! What a sad story to be repeated over and over throughout all known time. Such despair! Yet, that is not the end of the story. Consider...

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

And there it is, in as much as we all shared in death brought about by sinfulness, we as believers no share in the life in Christ! I no longer walk the Earth as though the living dead. Instead, I have died in Christ and been reborn, yet not I but Christ. What was is not what is.

So it is with joy and gladness that I recall the moment of my death when I passed through the grip of Satan and into the bosom of Christ. Perhaps you remember your moment and would like to share it with me by commenting on this blog entry. Perhpas you have not experienced that moment but feel the tuggings of The Spirit upon your conscious even now and you'd like to embrace that opportunity; if that's the case then speak to God. Admit your own sinfulness and your need for Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and in his sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sin-debt. Confess your sins to God and be forgiven. Rise from the grave in which you dwell and join us as we walk in the light of God's Holy Perfections.

If that speaks to you and you had that conversation with God, I encourage you to tell someone. You can start with me but don't stop there. Tell your pastor, your teacher and your friend. Tell them that what was is not what is.

Shalom,

Carl