Two friends drug him down. It started with watching mediocre movies and descended into pornography. Sam felt miserable and tried to rationalize his actions against a brighter conscience. He felt trapped until one night he listened to his father, Titus, preach a message he’d heard countless times. On this evening in December of 1994, God’s Word pierced Sam’s heart. He felt the potent pull of the Holy Spirit. Tears filled his eyes and plunged downward washing away built-up shame. Later that night he repented of his sin and honestly asked Jesus to become His Lord and Savior. Lingering guilt was replaced by enduring peace. Love came and filled a 14 year-old boy in
Meditation
1 Peter 1:3—Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Spiritual newness is not gained through church attendance or affiliation, deserved by birthright, inherited by papal pronouncement or earned by good deeds. We can make fresh resolutions but declarations and improved performance will not induce the Holy Spirit to take up residency in us. Even the best intentioned sinner is still just that! Spiritual transformation comes through God’s application of mercy. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him” (John 6:65). “No amount of determination can give me the new life of God. That is a gift; where the determination comes in is in letting the new life work itself out according to Christ’s standard.”* The reason so many people miss Jesus’ grace is that they are determined to earn God’s favor through their own effort and on their own terms—an impossibility. Human effort merely calcifies the very nature God abhors.
To be new is to be repentant. The paradox of spiritual life is dying to self. For Sam it meant death to watching illicit movies and the termination of time with unprincipled teens. Sam’s remorse was insufficient for killing his old nature. Remorse drops tears for getting caught. It may even cry while the rest of the body engages in wrongdoing. Repentance cannot condone compromise. It requires change and necessitates divine power to overcome a nature bound by dirt.
If we remain committed to following (obeying) Jesus our new nature is preeminent, glorifies God and emits a luster the Father uses to draw others to Himself. Today, Sam radiates newness. His passion for worship warms the hearts of those around him who sense the Spirit and are left with something to think about . . . in reveration.
Inspiration
The putting on of the new man means that we must not allow our natural life to dictate to the Son of God, but see to it that we give Him ample chance to dominate every bit of us.—Oswald Chambers in The Psychology of Redemption
