The Old Man And The New One

We were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves? Somewhere we live inside -- Meant To Live by Switchfoot

Hear me ringin'; big bell toll.
Hear me singin'; soft and low.
I've been beggin'; on my knees.
I've been kickin'; help me please. -- Can't You Hear Me Knockin' by The Rolling Stones

We often hear the term "born again" used to describe a person who has "found God". When we come to the realization that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life it means that we die to our natural inclination which is to sin and we are alive in the grace of Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Paul even refers to our old self as The Old Man.

I'm absolutely cool with that, but it's important to note that finding God doesn't at all mean that we went out somewhere searching like it's a game of hide and seek. God created us which means God has been there, an integral part of our being from the first millisecond of our being inside our mother's belly. The new creation we talk about becoming has been there all along! It wasn't God who was playing hide and seek with us. No, we just spent a period of time (some of us longer than others!) denying our true nature.

The reason Jesus had to die on the cross is because there is no way we can grow up in the world and not sin. We mess things up. We complicate them, sometimes only slightly and sometimes to an extreme degree...but complicated is exactly what life is and God didn't do that. He gave us free will and from the earliest time we have spent part of our time choosing incorrectly. The New Man (or woman!) inside of us isn't really new...but it is our true nature. It's the way we were meant to live. That feeling over the course of your life that you've gotten over and over again that something is missing or off-base is your true nature knocking to be let out, or back out in some cases.

Becoming like a child so you can enter Heaven means unlocking the door to your true self and letting the spirit God created shine through. Each day it knocks and wants to come out to play. It's up to you to unlock the door.