I stared off to the west at an unusually shaped cloud. It looked just like a giant fish tail. It was as if a big fish was chasing the sun over the horizon.
I had read Jonah recently, and that story came immediately to mind. When we think of biblical characters we want to be like, Jonah never comes to mind. He does not fare well in the biblical account. He ran from God at the beginning of the story, finally obeys, and ends up pouting because God didn’t do what he wanted.
I thought about the places where our hearts were more like Jonah than like Christ—far more places than we like to admit. When I say our and we here, I include myself. Sometimes my heart is far more like Jonah than Jesus.
One of the wonderful things about being a Christian, though, is that we are works in process. We are not yet perfect. Nor do we have to be.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
That means we can lighten up on ourselves a bit. I am not advocating that we keep our worldly ways, far from it. I am simply suggesting that we lighten up a bit on unneeded guilt. We do need to repent of our sins. We do need to let the Holy Spirit transform us from the inside out. Many changes need to be made in all of us.
We simply need to accept that it is a process and we are not going to get there all at once. When we are confronted with sin in our lives, we need to take it to God. We need to work with Him to remove it. We do not need to carry the weight of it around our neck.
True humility is not walking around with the chains of bondage around our neck, clanking like Jacob Marley and moaning about what worms we are. It is about accepting that we are flawed and truly giving those things to Jesus to change.
True humility is recognizing that while we are less than perfect, the one who dwells in us is perfect. It is not about being proud of how good we think we are. It is about recognizing that the goodness in us is a gift from Him.
Take note of your faults. Give them to Christ and move forward. You cannot change the past, but Christ can change your present and your future.
Until next time, give Him the room to work and change you.
Kevin
