New.

What I’m doing this month is taking one word from 3 (somewhat) randomly chosen passages on the Bible, and then just basically contemplating them.  They may fit together, they may not.  But lately I have been a bit...reluctant about Bible reading, and so this is my way of kind of getting into the groove of things.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it every day, but I’d rather it be an enjoyable study than a burdensome task.  And this is not something that I am going back and correcting; there are mistakes and grammar inefficiencies and probably theological misunderstandings; but it’s my own personal study, though it is open for reading.  So today’s word is: New.

All verses are from the Message.

2 Corinthians 5:17

16-20 Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

Psalm 149:1-4
Hallelujah! Sing to GOD a brand-new song, praise him in the company of all who love him. Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator, Zion’s children exult in their King. Let them praise his name in dance; strike up the band and make great music! And why? Because GOD delights in his people, festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!

Isaiah 42: 5-9 

God’s Message,

    the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies,
    laid out the earth and all that grows from it,
Who breathes life into earth’s people,
    makes them alive with his own life:
“I am God. I have called you to live right and well.
    I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me,
    and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations,
To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light:
    opening blind eyes,
    releasing prisoners from dungeons,
    emptying the dark prisons.
I am God. That’s my name.
    I don’t franchise my glory,
    don’t endorse the no-god idols.
Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been fulfilled.
    I’m announcing the new salvation work.
Before it bursts on the scene,
    I’m telling you all about it.”

The first passage got me thinking about this article a friend posted on his Facebook status the other day.  It’s called “Six Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person”, and it was posted on Cracked.com.  Basically, it seemed to me that it was saying if you have mediocre relationships, or if you are having trouble finding a job, or if you generally think you deserve more, then buck up and make yourself a better person.  It said that the world doesn’t value you for being a nice, polite, friendly (etc. etc.) person--it values you for what you can give to the world.  Your accomplishments, your work, your skill sets--these are what people see, and these are what will attract people to you.  

I think this article is incredibly useful in many ways--especially in a society where people expect to be handed everything without giving back; in a culture of “me” minded people who are constantly feeling they deserve something (and I am not excluded from this way of thinking at times).  People judge people based on your actions and accomplishments.
Now, where this ties into the first passage: the Cracked article is how the world will view you (and how we often view the world).  But for Christians, we are called away from this mindset; “...we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look... Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.”  We are created new, and we are to look at others as such.  

“All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.”  Despite all the protestations that we are good people, that if people only could see inside and know our true feelings, we would get what we deserve.  Though I think if people really did have the opportunity to see into the hearts of others, they would quickly sequester them in fear of judgement (or why else is there such a fear of commitment and intimacy?).  God looks at what we’ve done, and covers us our hearts with Jesus, seeing him when he looks at us.  To which we should all breathe a sigh of relief, as our hearts are not being seen for the rotten mess that they truly are.  But what this also means is that we are to look at others with this same Jesus-cover as well.  If they caused us pain, if they have done harm to those we love, if they win awards, if they are kind; if they lie, steal, piss themselves in public, help an old lady across the street--we are to view them as creatures of God.  

And this is so easy to type, but so hard to do.  When people do me wrong, I want to be angry at them; when people betray my friends, I want to be angry for them--but we are called to give this up this way of thinking, because it is the way of the World; the way of our old selves.  “God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them.”  We are then also called to lovingly serve as reconcilers of people. This has been something I have failed in enormously in recent times.  I have been hateful and bitter because I felt I deserved to be; I felt that I was in the right and therefore held the power of judgement.  This has been a call to me to examine my own ways; I need to let myself be reconciled with God, because I have been resisting. This is something I will need to continuously work towards; a constant struggle to let go of the self I am clinging so tightly to.

The second passage is a short one, and I think it is very good to meditate on, because it is a celebration of God’s love, and it shows how good it is to worship in community.  “ And why? Because GOD delights in his people, festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!”  Connecting with the first passage a bit--even though we are “plain folk”, God has made us new creatures and “festoons” us “with salvation garlands.”  It is a mercy worth thanksgiving.

The last passage, an Old Testament one that seems to clearly point towards the coming savior, is really lovely.  “The God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it, Who breathes life into earth’s people, makes them alive with his own life...”  What a beautiful picture!  If you are like me and like to look at pictures of space; of other galaxies swirling in the deep unknowns, then this idea of an infinite God stretching out his hand to create his majestic work should be very striking to you.  

I especially like that line, “Who breathes life into earth’s people, makes them alive with his own life,” because it shows how each of us has God in us; our life spring flows from God.  We were given consciousness, the ability to think, to love, to create, to choose--and when we chose death, God gave us a new choice; “I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons.”  We can open our blind eyes, and see with the eyes of Christ.  And I think that ties back with the first passage--instead of seeing others (and ourselves), in the eyes of the world, we are given the ability to see others through the eyes of Christ--and that means loving them for all they are, because what defines them is not themselves, but that they are creatures of God.