Past is Prologue: there's a typo in my fortune

Last night at Karthia we talked about communion with God and with others. There is a common theme in scripture relating to this topic-- the new vs. the old self. Paul is the author who speaks explicitly in those terms, but even David, Isaiah and Job first address their sin before approaching the throne of God. They are humbled and awed to be in His presence because they know that their ability to do so is only by God's grace. Many years later Paul is also ever aware of the need to lay down his pride and fall to Feet of Mercy in humility. By his time God's grace has taken physical form and displayed its power through resurrection. Grace's name is Jesus. For it is by Grace we have been saved, through faith, which is not a gift of ourselves. It is for this reason we can approach the throne confidently, though our past has been put to shame in comparison to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus. These lines sound familiar? They should. Paul goes out of his way to make evident to us the dichotomy of self, pre and post acceptance of Christ (and the Holy Spirit). 

Oh, if there were such a clear line in my life. Sadie pre and post knowledge and receiving of Christ. Problem #1 is that technically I was 6 when I accepted Christ. So most of the pre/post differences are actually 6/19 differences. One problem I am finding with having come to the salvation decision early in my life is downplaying my sinfulness. Paul talks all about this evil, sinful, worldly nature of self. For me it's like "oh, well I was a kid, so I never really had that." FALSE! That right there is how I get myself in a rut. Beginning to believe (though I would never say out loud at a conscious level) that the whole grace thing? not a big deal. ha! My sin is grave. It is condemning, its unrighteous and it keeps me from my best friend. And while this sin may not have reared its ugly head by the tender age of 6, the sinful nature was there and just as wrong as any middle aged person coming to know Christ after years of addiction. 

 In reality, the problem is that the human nature still is there. The lack of distinction between my selves is not because i was innocent when I first believed, it's because I'm just as sinful now as I was before believing in Christ. The difference is that now I have the tools to deal with this sin. 1) i have Christ 2) i have the Holy Spirit 3) grace 4) prayer 5) mercy 6) bible study... there are so many more. If my life does not look different pre/post Christ it really has nothing to do with my life before or after 6 years of age. It reflects a neglect on my part to daily take up my cross. To daily decide to choose Christ. To daily utilize my tools. To obey His Word. To start anew. To put to death the desires of the flesh. To take communion with Him. To engage in Koinania relationships. 

Too often I neglect to do these things because I, again, downplay the role of God's grace in my daily existence. Life is going pretty well, who needs God? I haven't done anything blatantly sinful, what's the problem? How crafty is Satan? We can assured of one thing- Satan is not near as crafty as God is sufficient. We have all the power in the world to protect ourselves from the lies Satan would have us believe to keep the line between pre/post salvation blurry. All we have to do is tap into this power. How? Daily. It's not the difference between how I lived my life at age 6 and age 19. It's about living my life differently every day. A difference that I cannot create on my own (I Tim. 1:15). Choose you this day whom you shall serve. What I choose to obey is what I become a slave to. And what I am a slave to characterizes the difference I live. Whether it's good or bad. Whether it's Christlike or not. Whether it's enriching or not. 

Every single day I have a choice. I can choose the Spirit or the flesh. That choice makes all the difference in the world. In my flesh I cannot live a difference. It's frustrating. It's fruitless. It's pointless. The other day there was literally a typo on my fortune in my fortune cookie. I thought of how (in another really strange analogy way) this relates to my plans. They are flawed and seriously full of error. But in seeking His plan, there is redemption. There is grace. And in His mercy, the past is made prologue. It is not forgotten-- it remains in order to build on, work on and to help make future revisions. Daily the Editor seeks to revise as I go on making typos. To seek Him is to see a difference. Period.