You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22, 23
William Law was an Anglican priest of the 1700’s who is once reported to have said, “If we are to be new people in Christ, then we must show our newness to the world.” As I reflected on this after a busy couple of days, I asked myself, how my newness might have been showing lately. I of course keep some good excuses up my sleeve just in case my ‘newness’ might be seen to be a little tarnished; I have of course been sick, very busy, family pressures and of course work is crazy right now and don’t forget that we have a wedding coming up!
It was probably easier for William Law to be new and people like St Paul and Jesus of course had no problems with newness being the Son of God and all. Good grief, they didn’t have to put up with the stuff that we are engaged with day in and day out!
There is another favourite passage of mine that comes from the Book of Lamentations:
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
I spend a lot of time absorbed with me and my problems and sometimes this self absorption can so possess me that I forget some key truths. The first truth for me is that of free will. I have choices as to how I face my day to day activities. It is good to stop and call things to mind. A young fellow was stuck in a real mess once and it was hardly possible that things could have been worse, until one day ‘he came to himself’. A favourite word these days is another one of those that is of religious nature but has been picked up by the world – epiphany. Perhaps we all need regular epiphanies that allow us to come to ourselves.
Another truth is one that people must be tired of hearing by now; it is not about me! John Farnham had it right – One is the loneliest number. The creation story makes it clear that we are not designed to fly solo. We are at our best when in community.
I believe also that vision is a powerful reminder of the nobility of humanity. Again the Bible says:
‘Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.’ Proverbs 29:18 (New King James Version)
I am regularly concerned at the lack of vision among us today. There is no grand picture to inspire and encourage. Words of vision or revelation are drowned in the drab beige of life. I am always inspired by the story of Nelson Mandela. If someone had reason for bitterness and revenge it was this man and yet he overcame this because his vision was greater than his hurt:
‘During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’
How is our newness of life going? How will we spend tomorrow and hopefully, the many tomorrows to follow?
