A whole new wardrobe

My first week in the military was kind of interesting. Arriving at Fort Jackson on a chartered bus that had picked up a whole bunch of us in the wee hours of the morning on that October day in 1976, the 'unknown' caused all of us more than a little trepidation. As we unloaded our suitcases and gathered around it became clear this would be a life-changing venture! In rather short order, the orders were being barked out to divide each of us into groups and then serving to usher us off to our temporary housing. The dawn came way too early and those jeans, tennis shoes, and t-shirts were all exchanged for olive drab shirts, socks, caps, and pants, white undershirts, and black boots. All the same, no one standing out any longer as unique. Those clothes we brought along for the journey were all taken from us, locked away until our final day at boot camp, never to be worn again until we were officially finished 'becoming soldiers'. Why did they insist on clothing us with the same uniform? Why was it we couldn't just wear our jeans and t-shirts? I think it was because they were showing us we 'belonged' to them now!

You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Now, in Christ, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or free, male or female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28 ERV)

In much the same way, our 'baptism' into Christ results in an exchange of 'clothing' of sorts. We have all our dirty and torn garments of sin removed and we receive the robes of righteousness in their place. We are marked out as no longer belonging to sin, but to righteousness - to God himself. We might forget this exchange of 'attire' because it isn't like we actually go to the closet and pull out those garments everyday, but maybe we need to begin to think of it that way. Every day dawns with a chance to 'put on' again the righteousness of Christ. It isn't that we are getting 'saved' all over everyday, but that we are reminded of whose we are by the garments we are adorned with for that day's battles. What are our garments? What do they resemble? If you begin to examine them, you might just get a little insight into how much God wants us to see ourselves no longer as we were, but what we have become!

Grace is a garment, effectively covering over our sin and removing it in much the same way an undergarment would cover over the less 'sightly' parts of our body. Truth is like that green cap we were issued in the military - covering over our minds and surrounding them in such a way we are surrounded with what will counteract all untruth. Peace is like the socks and boots we wear everyday, feet protected, steps ordered, the chaos of sin no longer causing us to stumble and fall. Chest protected by God's infusion of fresh faith - heart renewed, spirit uplifted, and emotions brought into perfect adjustment. Freedom is marked by the pants we put on - for they allow us to move unhindered and with agility. There are probably a lot of 'righteousness characteristics' we could use to describe our 'new garments', but these are just a few to get you to thinking about what God gives in the way of 'righteousness garments'.

We don't put on new garments over old. Maybe this is why the military took away all the old and gave us only that which was new - to remind us we were being made into something new. God does something similar in giving us his garments of righteousness - reminding us we are being made into something new. Our part is to give up the old and to adorn ourselves with the new. We might want to return to the old if they weren't removed from us. The old isn't going to 'leave us' unless we let it go. We have to be willing to forsake the old to take on the new. Getting anything new is only of benefit to us if we actually put it to use! Put on the garments of righteousness God has given today. Mind twirling, all manner of noise pestering your thoughts all day - put on truth and observe how well your thoughts begin to order themselves. Heart churning, emotions jumping here and there - adorn yourself with the peace of God and see how settled you become. Put on - but don't forget to allow the old to be 'locked away' so you don't return to that closet any longer! Just sayin!

In 1492, Columbus sailed the oceans blue....

I can remember studying the discovery of the Americas by one very bold 'pioneer' of sorts - his name was Christopher Columbus. He was an Italian explorer of his day who made four trips across the Atlantic, with the most notable being the one where he sailed the oceans blue in 1492. His attempt to sail a direct route from Europe to Asia never really materialized as he expected, coming across the Americas instead. It was his 'discovery' of these Americas, already populated with various native inhabitants that gave him notoriety in his 'explorer' circles. He was credited for having found a 'new world' - complete with all the vast treasures it would hold for those willing to strike out to colonize these distant lands. Did you realize the purpose of exploration in those days was really to 'discover' and to 'colonize'? Did you ever stop to consider that the reason we 'discover' truths from the Word of God is so they can 'colonize' us with the power and presence of Christ?

When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ERV)

A whole new world - don't miss that, my friends. We aren't living in the past 'world' of our sins and sorrows any longer. We are living in a whole new world - one empowered by Christ, populated by his presence everywhere, and rich in his blessings of love and grace. We are not called to travel back and forth between this 'new world' and the 'old'. We are called to live, discover, and enjoy the 'new world' we are brought into in Christ Jesus. Those early colonists who traversed the great Atlantic expanse did so knowing they were likely to not go back to their European continent anytime soon, if ever. They made a commitment to live in the 'new' and to leave behind the 'old', much in the same way God asks us to do as we come into Christ.

We sometimes think this 'passage' from the old into the new is marked with a two-way bridge. We can enjoy the new and still return to the old anytime we feel like it. The old isn't meant for our return, but for our forsaking! We don't maintain bridges to the old anymore than Columbus' travelers could have built a bridge between Europe and America! That bridge building would have consumed them - the maintenance of such a structure almost impossible. If you know anything about the Atlantic Ocean, you will understand it is marked by strong currents, rough seas, and often hurricanes. Those currents make the travel harder than expected. The rough seas lend to a very uncomfortable rocking motion that makes the body react violently. The hurricane winds have accounted for many a vessel's collapse over the years. 

The old isn't meant for our return. It is meant to be left alone - to fade into the past as we focus on the new. Yes, it still exists, as does the Atlantic all these years later. The old exists - but the new calls us into newness of discovery and purpose. We don't need the old if we focus on the new. We find the new begins to excite us more and more, as discovery after discovery is made. We might never forget our rocky passage from the old into the new, but we don't want to build bridges over those rocky waters, my friends. We are called to live and grow where we find our newness of life. The old served a purpose - it drove us toward the new. We are now finished with the old and are free to move about freely in the new. Just sayin!

Wrapped, settled, and at ease

Times of transition can be both upsetting and thrilling at the exact same time. We get scared because of what we are seeing an end to something we have held dear or worked with for quite some time, but we are awesomely excited about what may be forthcoming as we take on the new venture. The moment we commit to take those steps forward, we are lambasted with all manner of doubt, anxiety, and maybe even a little bit too much adrenaline! The emotions evoked in transition can be undeniably hard to maneuver through, but when we move from one thing to another, there will always be a little bit of emotional 'build up' experienced in making that transition. Transition is a time of unrest for all of us. We like the familiarity of what we have come to know as "constant" and "secure" in our lives. When transition is called for, we often feel like our "legs are being pulled out from under us". This might be why we are as apprehensive in transition as we appear to be. We allow fear to guide our thoughts and influence our actions instead of taking the things we fear to God for his guidance in those times of transition.

Complain if you must, but don't lash out. Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking. Build your case before God and wait for his verdict. (Psalm 4:4-5)

Transition by definition is simply a period or season of change - changing from one position to another, a state of what some have come to call "stability" into a state of the "unknown". We also see that it is characterized by times of transformation. Transition brings with it transformation opportunities. We only enjoy the butterfly because the caterpillar underwent the transition - it prepared for and submitted to the transformation! There is a process in transition whereby a metamorphosis from one state or stage into another is underway. The end result is to make us more beautiful, stronger, and different from what we were when we entered into that transition.

Complaint is inherent in transition. It is human nature to complain 'about' or 'against' whatever it is that is seeking transition. Why? We may not even like the present process or way things are, but to change means there will be this encounter with the unknown, so we resist it. We don't seem to understand the process, or even want to participate in the process change, so we lash out against it. We can approach transition with a degree of maturity that will assist us in making it through the transition in a positive manner, but we don't come by this 'maturity' all on our own - we need God's help. The first thing he expects of us is that we will limit the complaining. It is the easiest thing to enter into the "whining" stage of complaint when we don't understand something, we don't feel it is fair, or we don't interpret the transition as something we can endure. Complaint is often an expression of our uneasiness over the situation at hand. It is quite easy for complaint to go the other direction into becoming an expression of our resentment toward the transition that is occurring. How we face the transition is directly impacted by both our "self-talk" and our "outward talk" about that transition. 

 
Some find they let their heart do all the talking, but when our heart does all the talking, we might just find that what is expressed is really so much of the grief we are experiencing with the transition at hand. As we let go of something we have developed a certain comfort level with (even when we don't really 'like' the present way things are), we often experience a deep sense of grief over the loss (because our comfort is impacted). We want to hold onto what "feels secure" to us, while God may have a different plan for our "security". Grief is often best understood in the midst of transition - we are parting with the old and embracing the new - bringing to light just how much we have been holding onto something within the old that we needed to let go of in the first place.

When compliant is done well, we actually build our case before God, finding there is no other resource as readily available, or as totally reliable to assist with the fear associated with change, the grief associated with letting go of the old, and the sense of unease created when transformation must occur. We often gravitate toward building our case before man - but it is time for us to truly consider that God is in control, so we need to build our case before him, not others. It can be hard to wait for his verdict - once we have laid it all out before God (our fear, disappointment, grief, unease, etc.), we are told to wait. Not the easiest instruction to follow, huh? I know for a fact that I am not the best at "waiting" to see what will unfold. It is in the "wait" that we often receive the greatest revelation of what the future holds - and how to let go of what has been an ineffective process in our lives. 

Think about that caterpillar for a moment again - in the moments of transition, he is going about his daily life until one day he is somehow moved to create a new form of existence. He goes into the safety of a cocoon - a place for his transformation to occur. That is kind of like us building our case before God - we take time to envelop ourselves in his watchful care, and then we wait for the rest to occur according to his plan. In the end, the cocoon produces the beauty of the butterfly - sometimes it is a Monarch, other times a simply little butterfly with golden wings. So, whatever transition we face today, perhaps we'd do well to consider the instruction of our psalmist. God can deal very well with our complaints - but we need to take them to him, not others who have no control over the transition. God is about to work in the midst of the transition - to produce what he believes will produce the greatest beauty in us. We need to find what we need for the transition in the safety of the "enveloping" covering of his care. Just sayin!

Passport stamped?

A few years after my dad passed, I was feeling a little nostalgic and I decided to go looking for our first home in Arizona. Mind you, the home was built probably somewhere in the 1940-1950 range, and we all know how things change over time. Trees get bigger, neighborhoods morph from one look and feel into another, and what may have been a 'majestic mansion' when we were little kiddos is not always the same when we return to it some 30-40 years later! I eventually found the street I was seeking, now almost unrecognizable because of the transformation of the surrounding neighborhoods. I recall knowing quite clearly the house was the second on the right, so down the lane I went and there it was, but...what a different scene than the one I remembered or imagined! The gnarled mulberry tree was there, but the branches were all cut off and it no longer spread out over the corner of the yard. The once whitewashed fence still stood, but the faded appearance told me keeping it whitewashed each year was no longer a concern of the owners. What once stood as a palatial mansion now appeared as a small, once quite quaint home. Weathered and worn, it no longer 'shown out' as the once beautiful home it was at one time. A friend once told me we can never really return home, but I didn't quite understand that advice until I stood there gazing upon my one-time family home. The thing I'd have was the memories because the present state offered no such comfort!

So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! (Romans 6:1-3 MSG)

We might think we can 'go back' to a former way of living, for just a moment in time, just for a quick little jaunt into the past. The truth is that the past is never the same as it was when we were living it! The past changes, if not in size, importance, and appearance, then in what it is we see when we come face-to-face with it again. It is an 'old country' to us - one we left behind in pursuit of another when we said "yes" to Jesus. We actually forsook that country and embraced another - not as immigrants, but as citizens who enjoy new rights, privileges, and passages. We might believe the past still has good stuff for us, but in that 'former life' are none of these 'good things' God has prepared for us to enjoy in this new one!

When I was just starting elementary school, we packed up and left that home in North Phoenix, making our way out to the very furthest point of the East Valley. The places were miles and miles apart - especially in the eyes of a child. The journey seemed long and a little bit frightening, but in truth, the new became the 'new norm' for me. Something similar happens when we come to Christ, welcoming him into our lives as more than a religious pursuit, but as one we desire close, personal relationship with. We begin to experience a 'new norm' - what once held fascination and great appeal is likely to fade more and more into the 'background' of our lives (the past). The past is indeed 'background' for our lives - no experience ever being totally without some meaning to us. Yet, we are not called to live in the 'background' of life - we are called to live in the present!

I could no more go back to living in that old family dwelling as I could go back to living a life without Christ. That boat has sailed! Those doors are closed! That old life is not my present one! The new life in a new land was prepared specifically for us - we don't need that one in the old land! There is something liberating about being able to break those ties with the past, my friends. But...there is equally something quite liberating about learning to look forward and turn our backs on what we imagine the past could offer us. The more we yearn for the past, the more we are discontent with the present, but the problem is that the present offers way different things for us than the past ever could. Way different things that make the old way of living look run-down, no longer showing signs of being tended and cared for. 

We don't 'go back' - we look and move forward. The life with Christ isn't lived one moment in the present and another in the past. Once we take that step into the new country of grace, we don't even want to look back at the old country of sin. There is nothing there that will ever satisfy us quite the same as what we find when we turn our eyes fully toward Jesus. Yes, the past still stands in our memories, but little by little, the past becomes less and less appealing to us. Maybe we need a little look into our past once in a while to see it is no longer all that appealing, but it doesn't mean we return to it - pursuing the stuff of the past! It just means we allow Jesus to make real to us where it is he has delivered us from - the past is a country no longer marked on our passport as 'home' - we are citizens of the country of grace, not sin! Just sayin!