Reinventing Ourself
Following Jesus is more than what we dont't do...
Reinventing Ourself
General Grant and his staff were gathered in a Virginia farmhouse back in the Civil War days. Several officers were standing by the fireplace. He was alone in the corner, apparently in deep thought. One officer said, “I have a story for you men. I believe I can tell it, since there are no ladies present!” An expectant ripple of laughter went through the room. General Grant stood and quietly remarked, “No, but there are gentlemen here.” The story was never told. Some who would not tell an impure story think nothing of listening to one. Followers of Christ must put off worldly habits.
General Grant and his staff were gathered in a Virginia farmhouse back in the Civil War days. Several officers were standing by the fireplace. He was alone in the corner, apparently in deep thought. One officer said, “I have a story for you men. I believe I can tell it, since there are no ladies present!” An expectant ripple of laughter went through the room. General Grant stood and quietly remarked, “No, but there are gentlemen here.” The story was never told. Some who would not tell an impure story think nothing of listening to one. Followers of Christ must put off worldly habits.
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Jesus wanted to revolutionize the way people thought, acted and lived. The choice to believe in Jesus is step one. The choice to live ethically is a natural step two. But the choice to have your entire life shaped and defined by Jesus living vicariously through you—that is a difficult one. Christ in us, resurrecting us, has become uncommon theology. Yet that’s what Paul preached.