Tag: Transformation

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The Isolation in Rejection

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? James 4:1 NIV

His brothers’ feelings toward him were intense, and not in a good way, for “they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”1 So, when Joseph dreamed of them bowing down to him, “they hated him all the more,”2 then after voicing their disdain, they hated him yet “all the more”!3 Certainly, he’d had his bratty moments, as when tattling on them to their father,4 but sibling comeuppance usually fits the indiscretion, so what could possibly drive his brothers to plan Joseph’s murder before opting instead to sell the 17-year-old into slavery? In a word, favoritism. Their father Jacob was partial to Joseph, his favorite son from his favorite wife, a measure of rejection for his brothers and ultimately an unfairness to Joseph, for any imprudence on his part, however mild, became an accelerant to the resentment raging in their soul.

Sin separates. James tells us the divisions among us emerge from the desires within us.5 Envy resents others for their good fortune, and there is distance. Lust objectifies others, indexing their inherent value to our impulsive desire, and there is contempt. Rage bursts our inner restraints to lash out at others, lest our fragile pride be toppled or our deepest fears realized, and accusations presume to know the heart of another. In our me-first world, unity is unnatural and harmony easily broken, so human-trafficking would not be Joseph’s last injustice. In fact, it portended his suffering through a steady stream of wrongs—sexual assault, false witness, wrongful imprisonment, and abandonment—that, over the next 13 years, would sweep him further into relational isolation.

Most of us have not experienced the degree of injustice that Joseph suffered, but sin—both that which we inflict and that which we endure—has brought us discord and division. Whether we’ve retaliated against others or isolated within ourselves, whether we’ve shut out or shut down, unity has become a casualty. Yet here we take courage from the story of Joseph, for despite his circumstances, “the Lord was with Joseph,”6 not in a sense of delivering him from difficulties, but in a far more powerful way—by humbling him through his trials and unto reconciliation, and in the process, blessing Joseph for God’s higher purposes and our greater good. It is in this love that God calls us, too, to walk the selfless path that leads to reconciliation, oneness, and God’s good pleasure.

Father, you love me beyond measure or understanding. In this great comfort, may I gratefully and humbly walk the supernatural path to reconciliation and oneness through Jesus Christ, in whom all things hold together.7 In His name I pray. Amen.

1 Genesis 37:4
2 Genesis 37:5
3 Genesis 37:8
4 Genesis 37:3
5 James 4:1
6 Genesis 39:2, 23
7 Colossians 1:17

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Three Steps Forward

As a young man newly promoted into a field representative position for my employer, I traveled with my manager as he introduced me to the insurance agents who sold for our company throughout north central Ohio. We had plenty of “windshield time” over a several-week period, so I was privileged to learn from his time-tested cache of workplace wisdom, including this valuable insight: “Some people gain 20 years of experience one time, and others gain one year’s experience 20 times.” It was his way of setting the vision of constant learning, continual improvement, and increasing productivity. In a similar vein, Peter counseled believers that life in Christ is more than a one-time moment of salvation—it begins at our spiritual birth into Him and grows steadily through a lifelong maturity process. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … has caused us to be born again into a living hope … to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for [us].”1 God’s Spirit births our spirit2 to a purposeful existence of learning and serving, all toward the vision that we “grow up into [our] salvation”3 and “bear much fruit.”4

Yet amid the three-steps-forward adventures along the way, there arise one-step-back moments of frustration. They happen to all of us; they happened to Peter. He had come to terms with the spiritual weakness in his natural self, he had experienced the relief of restoration, and he had availed himself to the Holy Spirit, who had done much through this bold apostle. Yet when influentials began to argue the need to attain righteousness by keeping Jewish law, even Peter was intimidated and “began to draw back and separate himself”5 from Gentile believers. It took a public rebuke from Paul6 to disabuse Peter of his misstep into doubt and to realign him with the truth of salvation by faith in Christ alone. (Good friends do this.)

Shortly before his martyr’s death, Peter penned final thoughts “to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.”7 “Make every effort,” he wrote, “to add to your faith goodness … knowledge … self-control … perseverance … godliness … mutual affection … and love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,” Peter continued, “they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”8 By now, we know we cannot bear such spiritual fruit in our natural strength, but only as we offer ourselves entirely to the Spirit of God, knowing this: He will lead us in constant learning, continual improvement, and increasing productivity—to a lifetime of experience one time.

We pray with Paul that we “may be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”9 Amen.

1 1 Peter 1:3, 4 ESV
2 John 3:6
3 1 Peter 2:2 NIV
4 John 15:5 NIV
5 Galatians 2:12 ESV
6 Galatians 2:14-21
7 2 Peter 1:1 NIV
8 2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV
9 Colossians 1:9-12 ESV

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You Will Receive Power

The impulsive disciple—decisive without restraint—had at every turn suffered the crushing failure of self-reliance and human wisdom the night it mattered most, when his Lord was betrayed. Sometimes transformation entails personal failure. The once-boastful one, now humbled before his risen Messiah, had experienced the freedom of forgiveness and the relief of restoration. Transformation includes liberation, as well. Yet when commissioned to spread the good news of life in Christ, Peter still lacked one crucial thing, as did his friends—the spiritual power to do so. This, too, would change. It had to change, for without the presence of the Spirit, there is no change in us.

Before ascending to His Father, Jesus told His disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”1 Not long afterward, as the apostles were gathered, “there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”2 It was the promised power from on-high, and the change in Peter from that point on was clear. For this frightened man who had denied knowing Jesus to “one of the servant girls of the high priest”3 now spoke boldly of the resurrected Christ to the high priest himself.4 This disciple who in Gethsemane had failed to stay awake and “pray that [he] may not enter into temptation”5 now wisely cautioned others regarding spiritual warfare: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”6 He who had proudly pledged unparalleled loyalty7 finally understood where godly greatness lies: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”8

Just as salvation is the gift of God—His Spirit giving birth to our spirit—so also is our transformation into the likeness of Christ. We can no more sanctify ourselves than we can save ourselves. Writes Peter: “[Jesus’] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him… He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”9 As we turn from the ways of our sinful nature, having seen them exposed in the light of Christ, God grows us in His own nature. This is the work of the Spirit; this is change in us.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6 ESV)

Father, open our heart to your Holy Spirit, that we would know and share your love, understand and apply your wisdom, and serve others in your power. Grace us to leave behind the things of our nature and to live increasingly in yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

1 Acts 1:8 ESV
2 Acts 2:2-4 ESV
3 Mark 14:66 ESV
4 Acts 4:5-12 ESV
5 Luke 22:40 ESV
6 1 Peter 5:8 ESV
7 Luke 22:33 ESV
8 1 Peter 5:6 ESV
9 2 Peter 1:3, 4 NIV