JESUS’ NATURE TAKES OVER
AND REBELLION FADES AWAY
My boss wanted me to paint
on the sculpture’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 has changed.
That rebellious nature
I’ve exhibited since a child has dissipated and I’ve watched myself take on a
much humbler and yielding attitude. It’s like being outside myself looking at a
totally different person. It has to be Jesus’ new nature in me because it’s
certainly not the old Carolyn. I hardly recognized my new self.
On my last several jobs I
found it easy to yield to my bosses and fellow workers. I’m more sensitive to
their wishes. If they asked for a suggestion, I gave it, but I didn’t butt in
with what I thought. And the thing is, I’m loving it. It’s fun and peaceful and
rewarding and most of all, it’s not fake!
Only Jesus Christ could
make that change in me so remarkable and permanent. And why it happened now
instead of years ago, I can’t tell you. I’m just so pleased to see it.
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 (1 Cor. 15:45), 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].”
Once Jesus was born, there
was one man with an uncontaminated, non-rebellious nature in His blood. That is
a really 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 life blood of Jesus effects every cell in us.
The old nature begins to
fade and Jesus’ nature takes over. Some things may change immediately, but
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 will 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.” It just gets
better and better.
Love, Carolyn
QUESTIONS AND EASY
CHALLENGES
1. Name one supernatural
change you’ve experienced in your life. What supernatural changes would you
like to experience?
2. Where did Jesus’s blood
come from?
3. How many cells are in
one square inch of skin? Does the nature of Christ effect those cells?
4. Cite a verse where
Jesus talks about being faithful in a few things.
5. What is the first
commandment (in the New Testament)? Cite the scripture.
6. When we change “into
the same image from glory to glory,” what is the Greek word for “glory” and
what does it mean? What would that mean for you personally?
