Rewind

I think I got a little ahead of myself last week. I issued a challenge for you to reverse the curse in your schools; to be the light of Christ for others that they might experience the good of Jesus in place of the bad of this world. It an awesome thing because experiencing that good through the loving words and actions of believers is what often turns the tide and draws the unbeliever to a place of acceptance and belief.

Near the end of my last post I said this: "Jesus came to reverse the curse in our own lives. Today make it your goal to pay it forward and reverse the curse for someone else."

But as I sat down this afternoon to ponder these things some more, I realized that many of you might be in a much different place. You might just have no idea what I mean when I say that Jesus came to reverse the curse in your life. And if you haven't experienced and understood that - well, then it would be pretty darn difficult for you to pay it forward and reverse the curse for others. . . So today I want to share with you the glorious and magnificent reality of what Jesus can and will do in you when you surrender yourself to His leading.

Colossians 3:9-11 says:

Do not lie to each other, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him -- a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Does being a Christian ever seem like hard work to you? According to the beginning of this verse (and the verses that come before it in Colossians) we have a lot of work to do when we become believers. We are called to lay aside our old selves and our bad habits. We have to do a major 180 from the way that we used to live. Our lives and priorities are supposed to change, and often in very dramatic ways when we begin to live for Christ instead of ourselves. A lot of people become burdened with the weight of this reality, but in those moments they are forgetting the beautiful truth behind the call for change. . .

When Jesus takes residence in our souls through the Holy Spirit He empowers us to change. Right after it says that we have laid aside our old selves and put on a new self it says that we are "being renewed," and not only that - but into the very image of God himself. I'm sorry, but that is crazy! Do you know that? Do you get that? From the very minute you begin the journey as a believer God begins shaping and molding you more into Himself. So there is a responsibility on my part to continue laying aside my old self, but there is also a commitment on God's part to work on my behalf. Let me be honest here, there are a lot of days that I don't feel like a very good reflection of God. I'm pretty sure that some of the people closest to me would agree. . . But the beauty of this fact is that it doesn't matter how I feel - it is still true.

So Jesus reverses the curse in us bit by bit as He molds us into the image of our Creator. But wait - it gets even better. As He accomplishes this work of renewal He also erases the status markers that this world uses to define our worth. The ground becomes level at the foot of the cross and we all stand as equals when we stand before our King.

If you want a church word for what I'm talking about here, think sanctification.

Reversing the curse means allowing Jesus to do the work He longs to do in each of our lives to make us more like Himself. He will finish the good work He started, and as we faithfully partner with Him and daily say no to the old self and yes to the new self, we will see our lives transform before our very eyes.

Jesus has reversed the curse in me. He's still doing it, and will continue doing it until the day I walk into eternity at His side. Until then, I'm a work in progress whose goal will be to reverse the curse through the power and love of Jesus everywhere I go.