All Things New part 4
I love this idea of a new day. A fresh start. It's so hopeful. And here's my thoughts on hope. Let me link two verses together: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12). And, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). See, this glorious transformation in which the old passed away and all things were made new... that happened on the cross. That's not something that we have to hope for. That's not something we have to hope will happen. That's something that already happened. Because if it hasn't happened, if it's deferred, then it makes the heart sick. I'm absolutely convinced that the cry of the heart is to be loved. That's what all of humanity wants, when you boil it down to the most basic level. And that's why people are so hopeless so much of the time. They're trying to get something that they think they don't have. But when the desire cometh--and it came on cross--it's the Tree of Life. Our hope is IN Him because our hope IS Him! And that's why the revelation of the mystery is so important. That's why understanding that before the cross Jesus--in ONE human body--was God with us. But now, because of the cross, Jesus lives in EVERY body. Not just God WITH us, but God WITHIN us. Christ in you is the hope of glory. But look at what the Amplified Bible says about that: "...the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory." We're not hoping the glory will come. We're not hoping Christ will live in us. We're hoping that we REALIZE what it means that the glory HAS come! Realize what it means that Christ DOES live in us! And that, in a nutshell, is what it means to be made new. No longer Adam, but Jesus. No longer a beast nature, but the love nature. No longer the old man, but a new creation in and as Christ! But if we're hoping that we'll get there someday... then we've missed the truth that we're already there. We are COMPLETE in Him. We don't need anything except knowledge. And I'm not talking about head knowledge. I'm talking about heart knowledge. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. Hearing what the Holy Spirit is whispering in a still, small voice. Hearing what the heartbeat of the God is whispering in the depths of our being. "I love you. I love you. I love you." That's the Truth that the Holy Spirit leads and guides us into. That's what makes all the difference between what was (before the cross) and what is. Love is literally the difference between life and death. If you don't know and believe that you are loved, then you're the walking dead, stumbling along in darkness and trying to get something you think you don't have. But if you DO know and believe the love of Christ... then you are equipped and empowered to live the abundant, everlasting, eternal, NEW Resurrection Life of Jesus by letting Him live His life in and through and as you!