Renewed in knowledge. // Part 2

[You] have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. // Colossians 3:10 

How are you at being kind to difficult people? How long can you last with them? And why do I ask?

Because we all have a breaking point: we can be nice for a period of time. We can be truly interested in another person’s life, and we can even show kindness because we know we should be nice. But there is a point where patience erodes and our ability to be compassionate is like fog that dissipates on a warm and sunny summer day. That kindness that we should have is gone. The reserve tanks are empty. We all have a limit. No surprise, right?

There is a person who will never break when it comes to being kind and compassionate to anyone, even difficult people. That person, and you might already know who it is, is Jesus. Jesus didn’t break when it came to difficult people. He was always able to hold his cool. He was really, really good at being smooth, and not blowing it. And even when he showed his anger in the temple, it was because he was concerned for sinners who were being kept from worshiping God, the Father. Jesus did all things very well.

Why does this matter? Because we need to know that Jesus won’t blow his top or lose his cool or grow cold in his compassion for anyone and in particular, for us. We need to know this because such knowledge is the mechanism by which God is renewing his image in us. 

A man convicted of stealing had been released from prison and plodded his way down the street and into a local church looking for relief from his tortured conscience. He discovered, in prison, that Jesus does give rest to the weary, and Jesus is strength when we find that we are weak. But on that particular day, he found out how his own weakness was met by Jesus’ strength.

He stared up at the front of the church and there was a display of the Ten Commandments. The one command that seemed to make itself bold and large and obvious for his eyes was the one that says, “You shall not steal.” Yes, he admitted with sobs, “I’ve stolen and I’m guilty.” The command weighed on his heart and seemed to push him down to his knees. 

Then he saw it again in a fresh and gospel-focused way. Instead of the words being just a demand for perfection, they now changed to an opportunity to “not steal” because of Jesus fulfilling them for him. He now saw that since this same Jesus lived inside of him by faith. He saw the commandments as being fulfilled by Jesus. And he saw them now, as an opportunity for his own future: “you will not steal” because the perfect Savior is now living inside of you. For him, that made an immense difference, and he left empowered to live differently. “I will live changed, brand new, and empowered by Jesus.”

You are being made new in knowledge in the image of your Creator. I pray that this impacts how you live today.

Pastor Al