“Therefore,” wrote Paul, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Cartoonist Bob Thaves pictures a couple sitting in front of their television set, cans of beer in their hands, junk food at their elbows. The caption reads: “There is no problem with your set. The rubbish you see on the screen is real. Please adjust your standards downward.”
I couldn’t help thinking of that as I pondered the fate of a well-known pastor who resigned his church, a stalwart landmark in the community for more than 100 years. A graduate of a fine seminary, and a good preacher, this middle-aged man, nonetheless, left his church in shame and sadness, his morality in question, his family devastated.
Do we expect too much of people? Should we do what the cartoon suggests: “adjust our standards downward”? Is the answer to lower our expectations, or is something drastically wrong with how we live today, something which short-circuits us from rising above the downward pull of our old nature and our culture?
Now, people have always struggled with their old natures and inadequacies. Even in Jesus’ day, some were made eunuchs because they felt they could be more holy that way. But it’s obvious today, something is radically wrong with life and our culture. It isn’t simply Christian leaders who fail. Their failures are more readily obvious and apparent. But it’s the whole of society. Marriages are in trouble. Family values are distorted. Our kids are struggling with issues that call into question the very future of the family unit as we knew it in grandfather’s day.
A generation ago, before we had copy machines and computers, if you wanted a second or third copy of a document that you were typing on the old manual typewriter, you inserted a piece of carbon paper between the first and then successive sheets. Naturally, the further the copy was from the original, the fainter the impression. I wonder is this part of the problem today?
Now, the closer you are to a fire, the warmer you are. From a distance you may see the glow of the blaze, but you are too far away to warm your cold hands. So is it with your faith. Mark, the writer of the second Gospel, tells us that when Jesus called the disciples, “He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14-15). Having first been in the presence of Jesus Christ, their lives had been touched by the Almighty. They were different—not just outwardly, but inwardly. Theirs was a vivid, first-generation experience.
The world took notice of these humble people, and what they saw often convicted them. Those who had been with Jesus were able to love people who were not very lovely. They were deeply committed to the fact that the forgiveness of God brings a changed life. The real change was not cosmetic, or outward. It was the inward change of the heart that resulted in a different lifestyle.
That’s why Paul was so dogmatic in what he said to the Corinthians, whose culture resembles ours today. “Therefore,” said Paul, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation [or a new person]; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Well, obviously, the further a carbon copy is from the original, the less the reproduction resembles the real thing.
The real solution is not in lowering our standards, but in having that first-generation, authentic encounter which results in regeneration. Think about it friend. Is this a reflection of your life?
Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 6.
