Out With the Old?
Good evening friends!
How does the end of July feel?
For me, July has been packed with more activities than my hands can carry. I sincerely apologize for not dropping a newsletter last week Wednesday, knowing that I could have dutifully dropped one, but for lack of good planning.
How’s your Wednesday going?
Wednesday, the 21st of July, 2021.
Any day I’m not writing, I feel like my heart is being ripped out of my rib cage. My wrists suffered the brunt of it in 2020 when the lockdown turned me into a paper mink— filling every blank page with thousands upon thousand of words, which sometimes in my opinion, were not well thought out.
On one of the days, I caught myself staring at my blank paper, wishing to see it covered with ink, but there wasn’t any strength in me to make that happen. Another day, I randomly shared it with a friend who advised to use a computer instead, letting off the expression, “Who still uses pen and paper?”
I love to see books splattered all over my table (not exactly like the one above anyway). I love the feel of stationery in my hands. I love that the sweet smelling fragrance from ink still feels like good hypnosis.
Don’t we all love some old school?
The dads refuse to throw out their old radios, or those large stereo discs that remind them of the good ole days. And you— I see how you still hold fast to your favorite, but worn out shirt. Remember the otherworldly love for that one meal that tastes better after two sessions of being warmed? Or is it your unusual love for vintage?
We all have attachments to old things we deem important. It could even be an old habit, which might just be holding us back from learning better ways of doing things.
When Christ promised to give us new lives in Him, He meant, out with the old, in with the new. His intention for us is that we never slip back into the old ways of doing things. We love differently, speak differently, act differently—all to reflect the light caused by the entrance of His Word into our lives.
Unlike my craving for the sweet smelling ink, He exhorts us to crave pure milk—the spiritual food for his babes. As we mature, He gives us solid food. We move past teachings of repentance and faith—on to deeper matters as He draws us to Himself to drink from His well.
Paper is beautiful. Computers are innovative. Seasons come, and things change. Evolution happens, but Christ shows us consistency. With Him, we don’t carry the baggage of our old lives. You may hold onto that old shirt, but not that old, lying tongue. He bestows on us, the newness of His Spirit and He gives us new desires. We no longer crave the unrighteousness of the past, but the holiness of His presence in us as Emmanuel—the ever present one.
Goodbyes
So, you want to be like Christ? Me too. But that kind of godliness won't just happen by hanging around a church or thinking lofty thoughts three or four times a day or learning a few verses of Scripture. It will take more - much more. Disciplining ourselves will require the same kind of focused thinking and living that our Master modeled during His brief life on earth.
- Charles R. Swindoll
Till next time,
Wednesday, God-willing!