The Plumbline

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NLT) It is indeed good news that our 'old life' is no longer in control of our daily activities, isn't it? No longer living for ourselves, but living for Christ Jesus, the very one who gave his life for us. The one thing that happens when we live this 'exchanged life' that we often don't recognize is how it changes our view of everyone else around us. We don't see them the same because we are viewing t...

Of all possessions a friend is the most precious. (Herodotus) Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. (Proverbs 18:24 MSG) We might think being surrounded with a multitude of people we refer to as 'friends' is always a good thing, but as you may have already figured out, not all 'friends' will be there when you are going through a tough time. Mom always used to quote this passage to me when I bemoaned not having 'friends' like all the other kids my age did. She'd remind me that to have a friend, one needed to show himself or herself as a friend FIRST. That meant this introvert needed to be a little more outgoing! It took me years and a whole lot of time alone with Jesus to actually become a little more of an extravert, but it didn't come naturally to me. I found myself wanting to draw back, hide behind whatever mask was available, and just 'be there' without really being there. If that might hit home for you, the...