Ephesians 4:22-24
Often our Lord told stories to make a point or to illustrate
a deep truth that is my intention to give insights into these verses. “To
put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is
corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your
minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
I was out of high school and my friends had moved on with
their lives, some had gone to college and a few had gone into the military, I
was working as a delivery boy for Cameron Mfg. I had an abundance of windshield time going to
Kingsville and Alice, Texas, and reality began to set into my mind, I was not
prepared for life. I was not a
mama’s boy by any definition, but I also had never been on my own, and I
depended on mother and dad for much more than I understood at that time. I was twenty, I had no plans and few
goals so I did what made sense to me at that time, and I joined the army.
When
I enlisted in the United States Army, I went to boot camp, my civvies were
taken from me, and I was issued a new set of clothes. I was introduced to a man we called Sergeant Major and he
told me the old Bobby was dead. The old Bobby could wear what he wanted, eat
what he wanted, and go and do what he wanted; all of that was history. They
even changed my name, NG25853898, and a few others I will not repeat. I would look to the United State Army
and its rules and commands and I no longer needed my opinions; all I needed was
to obey orders. You might say, I
was taking off the old life, the only life I had ever known, and putting on the
life of a soldier in training.
First,
let me share what I experienced in the United States Army. We were given an order that many of us
had not understood. It was not a
request-it was a command. For a
short moment, I acted like the old Bobby (the civilian), only to experience
this important truth, the old Bobby was not welcome, he had been replaced. You may ask, “How did the Sergeant
Major convey the message so that I understood that I had to obey
commands?” Simple, we were told to
go back into our barracks and pickup our M-1 rifle and our 30-pound packs. The Sergeant Major referred to that as
full gear. Then we were told to
return to the parade area.
Sergeant Major knew something, which we Christians must learn. If we are going to be Warriors, it
requires obedience.
The
Sergeant asked us to put on our gear, pick up our weapon (M-1 rifle) and join
him in a six-mile run with our weapon held at arms length above our head. You did not make it six miles. In fact, you learned a spiritual truth;
you learned to ask for mercy and forgiveness, and that was a big problem,
Sergeant was not into mercy. When
that happened day after day, you finally began to see the benefits of taking
off the old way of life and putting on your new identity; you are a soldier in
Uncle Sam’s Army.
It
is the same thing for each of us who enter into Christ we must take off the
life of independence and move to a life of total dependence. Paul tells us, “to
be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created
after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Many
of us in the army of Christ have not renewed our minds, but we can or God would
have never told us to do so. Have
you let God’s Holy Spirit take you to boot camp, if not, then you are still trying
to wear your civvies, and you are missing out on the fullness of the life of Christ.
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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