Col 3:10 And have put on the new man…
When the Apostle Paul commanded believers to put on the new man, he was using an image that communicated the thought of removing soiled clothes and replacing them with fresh, clean clothes. He had told them to remove the filthy clothes of their old lives, and was now encouraging them to put on the clean clothes of righteousness that is based on the new life God had given to them in Jesus.
This reminds me of something that happened to a fellow Pastor several years ago.
He was ministering in the Philippine Islands, and was about to take a picture of some of the people he had been teaching and ministering to. As he held his camera to his eye, he saw that he was too close to them to get a photograph that would include all of them. In order to get them all in the picture, he took a step back. The problem was, he had not noticed that he was standing on the edge of an open sewage pit and as you may guess, he fell right in, up to his armpits!
Do you think he wanted to keep those clothes on? Did he argue with the ones who encouraged him to remove those soiled clothes?
I don't think so.
It was in his best interest as well as the interests of others for him to get them off immediately!
He wanted the old ones off and wanted to put the new ones on!
Though this picture most certainly is disturbing, I still cannot help but believe that many Christians have simply gotten used to wearing the old stuff (you might want to read Colossians 3:1-17 to get a more full picture) and are more than satisfied to keep them on!
Today, if the Lord is speaking to you about fine tuning your life, you just might want to remember the old phrase "Off with the old, on with the new!"
Especially when it comes to your walk with Jesus!
2 comments:
Picturing your Pastor friend actually falling into a SEWAGE pit is a VERY vivid and horrifying thought. And it does bring to mind how anxious all of those around him were for him to wash and get out of those soiled clothes as well. Hadn't really thought of that before... how anxious others might be to see us get out of our "old man" habits too. But it does make perfect sense doesn't it? To be around someone who truly is a new person in Christ is a wonderful thing to experience. But to be the one who was actually removing those clothes (or the old man) well, words can't really describe it!
Just wanted to tell you really quick (I don't know how much other Calvary Chapel churches know about each other, haha) but my son James Class has just been announced as the new senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Hidden Valley. We are soo excited for him and to see what the Lord has in mind for this church. If you would say a prayer that the Lord might bless him and this church, I would so appreciate it.
Blessings to you, Debbie Class
Great illustration David. Since I'm teaching on this passage right now I think I'll use it next week. God bless and see you at the conference.
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