OUR NEW NORMAL

OUR NEW NORMAL

Several years ago, when I was doing some painting for my sculptor friend (that’s me on the upper left), he asked me to paint on the figure’s hand. But I wanted to finish what I was painting on the leg. My rebellious nature wanted me to argue and give the reason why my idea was better. But I didn’t say anything because something in me had changed. That rebellious nature I’ve exhibited since childhood had dissipated and I watched myself take on a much humbler and more yielding attitude. It’s like being outside myself looking at a different person. The old carnal nature goes, and Jesus gives me a better way to react. Sometimes I hardly recognize my new normal.

 

Unfortunately, my first response too often is still a “knee-jerk” negative, but anyone who knows me knows that if they just wait a minute or two, my true spiritual nature kicks in and my response turns positive. It’s my genuine new normal.

 

Only Jesus Christ could make that change in me so remarkable and permanent.

 

I was a rebellious child, an even more rebellious teenager, and it continued in my personality over the years. I think most people have issues with rebellion of one sort or another. It’s because rebellion was inherited from the first man, Adam, and it was passed down through generations in the blood.

 

But the birth of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, changed the nature of human blood for those who receive Him: “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life]” (1 Cor. 15:45).

 

Once Jesus was born, there was one man with an uncontaminated, non-rebellious nature in His blood. That is a big deal; no wonder a multitude of angels showed up and were rejoicing at His birth: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’” (Luke 2:13-14).

 

New blood and consequently a new nature was introduced on Earth. Jesus didn’t get His blood from His mother, Mary, but from God. Jesus’ blood was not prone to disobedience, rebellion, pride, or other human failings.

 

When people get born again, they receive that new nature of Jesus. There are at least 19 million cells in one square inch of skin, and each one is affected by DNA and blood. The pure lifeblood of Jesus impacts every cell in us.

 

The old nature begins to fade, and Jesus’ nature takes over. Some things may change immediately; others take time, but they will happen when we keep seeking the changes only He can produce.

 

Jesus’ meek nature was working in my blood for years until it just suddenly popped out as the new true me, and I’m so much happier now.

 

Jesus says this about being faithful: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:23).

 

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). He knows that if we continue to love Him, the gift of His son Jesus Christ will continue to bless us and change our very natures to be more like His.

 

Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

 

The word “glory,” that we change into is translated from the Greek word “doxa” which means “magnificence, majesty, brightness, personal excellency, dignity, and grace.” When we continue to read the Bible and apply it to our lives, we change from glory to glory, sometimes instantly and sometimes over a period of time.

 

God created us, every human being, with the ability to assimilate the spirit and nature of Jesus Christ into ourselves. We hopefully are willing to let God’s Holy Spirit filtrate throughout our bodies, minds, and emotions. The Spirit of Christ in us (Col. 1:27) can change us into the new and better version of us. We don’t want to ever give up on reading the Bible, praying, and doing our best to communicate with the Lord often. Stay faithful, because like me with the disappearance of a huge rebellious nature, we never know when those good changes will show ups and we become a new person in our habits with the new normal of the Christ within us.

 

Love, Carolyn

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY