ODJ: new way to be human
July 14, 2011
Put on your new nature, created to be like God (v.24).
READ: Ephesians 4:17-32
Last year, my wife Miska and I traveled to London. We enjoyed the standard sights (Westminster Abbey was a favorite), but mainly we spent our days walking the neighborhoods, visiting shops and cafes, soaking in a different way of life. We noticed how drinking tea provided a daily rhythm, how remarkably peaceful a subway (or tube, as they call it) station could be. At Portobello Market, we saw shopkeepers close their doors so they could enjoy 20 minutes of quiet. Other cultures demonstrate new ways of living in our world.
On a broader scale, this is precisely what the Bible offers. Scripture provides an invitation into another way to live—a better way of being human. The way of life the Bible describes does not make us less active or less engaged with our world (as though we are merely surviving until God evacuates us). Rather, embracing God’s life makes us more engaged with our world—more the person God created us to be. Paul put it this way: “everything . . . connected with that old way of life has to go. . . . Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life” (vv.22,24 The Message).
And this new life is immersed in everyday stuff, human stuff: marriages, relationships, work—life. There’s nothing abstract or theoretical here. God gives straightforward wisdom, emphasizing the basics. Nothing flashy—but all very human. Paul says we should “stop telling lies” (v.25). We should keep anger in check (v.26). And—I love this—Paul insists that anyone who steals should simply “quit” (v.28). We should speak and live with kindness, have tender hearts, and always be quick to forgive (v.32).
I wonder what our world would be like if we truly embraced God’s way of being human. —Winn Collier
What are your normal habits and patterns? How does God’s invitation to a new way of being human transform your view of real life?
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