Wholeness Leads to Holiness

  

I just read a bunch of obituaries for people named Scott Coleman. That was weird. So many of them were younger than I am now. I guess it's time for me to die now too.

    

                 

Before meeting Jesus I was wholly dead in sin and existed to attempt; endlessly I might add, to satisfy my own desires. I was completely self-absorbed with finding myself, creating my own meaning, pursuing happiness, doing good so that I might feel better about myself. I was hope-less. I couldn’t solve my problems and find the answer(s) to my rest-less-ness.

When Jesus died on the cross, I was crucified there with Him. I was supposed to die to myself in order to allow Him to live through me. I needed to wholly die so I could be re-created and born anew as His child. He is the Life, thus I needed to be put into His life completely and quit working toward my own desires. I needed to stop attempting to die to self and just die. As Graham Cooke says, “Stop trying to play dead, and stay dead.” Quit dying. Die! That’s the only way to become a new creature. I cannot keep wrestling around inside the cocoon. I need to get out of it and celebrate being made into something else entirely.

This was not fully realized until after being a follower of Jesus for 28 years. I was stuck in the evangelical rut of attempting holiness by human effort without the presence and work of the Holy Spirit; even though, I knew I needed Him and desired Him.

Once I realized the old broken, sinful guy was dead, I no longer needed to attempt to fix him anymore. I did not need to work so hard to stop sinning or manage my behavior. I just needed to die and be buried.  “You cannot fix a negative by focusing on it” [Graham Cooke, again]. The whole old me had to be crucified, die and stay buried. Once all the old junk was dead, I was free to no longer put makeup on the corpse to make it falsely appear publicly presentable. I needed to be raised to a new life in Christ realizing the old nature had been crucified and no longer had any power… unless, I went back to it and gave in to the garbage of the past. But I am set free from that junk.

I was then filled with the Holy Spirit and marked with Him as the guarantee that I was now wholly owned by Jesus Who purchased me. I was set free. Over a night I was changed and continue to change. I could now allow Him to live His life through me. I gave Him sin and brokenness. He died for it. He gave me the Holy Spirit and life. What a great trade for me! The Holy Spirit now teaches me how to live out His fruit so He can bear it through me. Finally! I have been wholly set free to be holy. “Be holy, as I am holy.” This is a loving and doable command as God indwells and lives through me. Thanks for the transition and transformation, Lord. You are awesome!

Now I am hope-more. Less is gone and replaced with more. Doubt is destroyed. Peace has come. Rest is the best 4-letter word. Oh, I guess LOVE is good too.

And… And you can have all this too. Ask. Seek. Knock. Talk to God. Wait for Him to answer. He is good and He loves you greatly. He holds before you the great exchange: Jesus’ died for our sin and God’s wrath toward sinners so that we can enter His life when we turn from our old busted-ness, brokenness, sinfulness, selfishness and pride. Have you made the great exchange?

Let me know if you need help. I love you because He loves you.