Rebirth (i.e., “born again”) is to make a new creature in Christ, to wit: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:17).
The “old creature” is one like Satan.
He is pompous like Lucifer (Isa 14:12) who according to Webster is
seeing himself as irritatingly grand, deluded with self-importance.
Never challenge anyone’s
perception of themselves because they enjoy their insanity.
When I look in the mirror and
compare myself to others, it is humbling; I am a “nobody” except for Jesus, and
to Satan, I would be a “nobody” not worth the time it would take to come to me.
Job was an important leader and
wealthy man. Satan came to him because Job was an important tall, tall man;
in a tall, tall land, as the lyric to the song goes in the theme song of Naked
Archeology.
Part of rebirth is to humble
ourselves and let the Lord lift us up (Jas 4:10). We are to rid ourselves of
pomp — that irritating self-aggrandizement as if we are important in the world.
The world has no use for us. We are mere tools for Satan, thusly fools!
By now, you may be irritated. I
do want to get under your skin, so to speak. I want you to self-examine
yourself to do a moral inventory of just who you are. You may say that you are “in
Christ” as a Christian, but even the demons believe in Christ (Jas 2:9). So, do
you believe in Christ in the manner of demons or in the manner of righteousness?
The evidence is that so many
Christians show no evidence of being in Christ. Sure, they believe in
Jesus, and that He is God in the flesh, but they behave more like the demons.
That type of “Christian” has a high opinion of himself; only his viewpoint is
valid, and in their view, they can arrogantly sin with impunity, and if they
are called out, anger, or vengeance, ensues. An angry person gets so wrathful
that he must get vengeance, usually hating the challenger to his pedestal. Not
just mildly angry, but angry, angry — wrathful — extremely angry. Maybe so
angry that the wish is that someone is dead… “Whosoever hates his brother is a
murderer: and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1
John 3:15).
It is not that a wrathful person
hates the person but hates the standards of another person. Kids say, “I hate
your guts,” but what they mean is they hate who you are within. They hate your
authority, and as such, they are little rebels who want the parent to console
all the while setting no expectations for them.
Parents expect their children to
respect them. So many do not deserve respect and to think we do is arrogant. The
commandment is to “Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be
long upon the land which the Lord your God gave you” (Exod 20:12).
The biggest rival for anybody is
their own father and mother because they have authority over you; they are
responsible for your well being — to live a long life here and in heaven. It is
the parent who sets the example and exerts authority over you much of your life,
so what do they get in return for doing their job responsibilities? Often it is
hostility. No maverick likes to be broken, and the reborn child is like a wild
stallion that objects to anything on their backs.
Therefore, the natural response of
the new creature in Christ is to buck both the standards of Christ and the
parents. It is as if the parents have sharp spurs in their maverick child, and it
is hard for them to “kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5). It is hard for the
new creature to fight against authority. In other words, rather than giving
into those who seem to “gig” them, they find it difficult to accept authority. Mavericks
must become docile, and sometimes the reigns must be pulled hard and the spurs
gouged in. That is a tough thing for the new creature to accept and for the
parent to do.
Indeed, it takes much conditioning
to tame maverick ponies. They don’t like it and buck every chance they get.
They have been free range so long that any type of cajoling or even corralling
may make them mean-spirited. Only after they are tamed are they content being loved
and nourished.
It takes time and persistence to
tame the wild beasts that we are. Why would parents take the time to tame their
little beasts? Because they were once “beasts” themselves and know that the
relationship is much better when the father and son bond. If they cannot submit
to the father here, would it be likely that they would submit to the Father in
heaven? The ability to submit to those who love you is the humility that is
required to submit to God above to even be born again. If a child never submits
to the wisdom of the parents, would it be likely they submit to the wisdom of
God?
A bucking bronco can be detected
by its actions. A bronco is an unbroken or partially broken horse that was once
free range. It can be detected by what? Its bucking the one who has authority —
the one with the reins.
True, the authority must be
gentle or for certain the bronco will buck, but oftentimes the wildness in the
horse is persistence, and it just will not relent.
That is the situation in which
people have with those they love; they hate to see them still wild and
sometimes it is hard for them to kick against the pricks as well.
Broncos buck because they want to
remain free range; they buck not because they hate the cowboy, but because the
cowboy is on their backs. Humans are no different until the bronco comes to
understand somehow that the man on the back is the man who loves them so.
Paul found out that it was hard
for him because he did not understand the love of Jesus. Children often never
come to understand the love of a parent. They have the responsibility of doing
the hard things! It is not a fighting match for them but a way of demonstrating
love. Parents who do not do the hard things are parents of mavericks all their lives.
Children must be broken young before they are able to kick too hard.
Broncos can be forgiven. They are
only protecting the freedom that they have always known, not understanding that
there are advantages in being tamed. They get love and care all their days,
just like the command implies, so that they live a long life. Why would parents
not want rebellious sons and daughters? Because they want them to have a long
and productive life. Just look at how untamed children turn out; many are dying
of drug usage as they seek dominion in the world of Satan.
Parents admit failure when they
allow authorities to control their maverick children using drugs. Parents have
failed when their children depend on drugs for comfort and solace. Drug usage
is as much a parenting problem as it is a user problem. Humble parents should
admit that the usual case of drug usage is due to the laxity of parents that
allow their little “ponies” to much free-range to ever break. If parents wait
to long, it is hard for their big broncos to kick against the pricks.
What do broncos do? They buck in
anger. They will flail about like a squeezed fish seeking comforting waters.
If you think a maverick is broken,
you may still have a bronco that seems to be broken but wildness remains their
main stay. They may be kept in a barn or corral, but their hearts are still free-range.
Many rebellious children do not understand that they have never all the way
submitted to their parents nor to their God. They claim both, then buck them
both; It is hard for them to kick against the pricks of those in authority. If
a child does not respect the parent, chances are he will not respect God.
To be a new creature requires
change. The evidence that you are a child of God is a changed nature. Paul gave
Christians standards of compliance for a self-check:
But now you also put
off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of
your mouth. (Col 3:8)
So, how are you and God getting
along? It is measured by how things are going with you and others! Are you an “angry
man” rather than a tall, tall upright man? Are you so angry that you seem crazed
to others? Do you seem to hate those who you are called to love? Does your
behavior put off God? Do filthy words come forth when you are upset? If the
answer to any of those is that you still do those things, then you are not in
Christ, meaning that you remain an old, wild creature into yourself. That
blasphemes God because it makes you, the “bucking bronco,” the real god.
It is so easy to put off filthy
communication but those not in Christ cannot just keep their mouths closed long
enough to bridle their tongues. The first thing a cowboy does is bridle the
bronco before getting on its back. Otherwise, it will whinny and go wherever it
wants to go, and nobody controls it. In a sense, a bronco, if it still bucks,
is its own master.
You may feel insulted and even
angry by now. Many of you Christians still curse and say filthy things. When
you talk, you speak what is on your minds. You are still a wild beast inside,
all the while acting the part of a tamed child of God.
What need you do to control your
filthy mouths? Keep the tongue bridled, and the best way to do that is to keep
the teeth firmly clinched and the mouth closed. The easiest thing a Christian
can do if they are truly a Christian is to keep the mouth closed. That requires
no work at all but people still some are unable to do that! It is a horrible
thing; from the same mouth to say filthy things that is used to praise God.
My young friend once said the sh-word.
Her twin sister said, “Wanda, I wouldn’t have that in my mouth.” They were both
Christians and one could not control her own tongue because she had not been
fully broken!
One time long ago, maybe many
times, God saw what His creatures were up to:
The Lord looked down
from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did
understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become
filthy: there is none that does good, no, not one.
(Psalm 14:2-3)
So, you think you are doing good
by just claiming Christ? You think that you are without sin as you expect
others to think and do as you do? Do you think that it is you that is the last
word?
The Lord sees who you are! “There
is none that does good, no, not one!” You are not important to anyone unless
you are a new and improved you; the one that is tamed by the Power of God. You
are the free-range bronco that now has the Holy Ghost astraddle you and are joyful
about that. If so, you are tamed. If you cannot take daddy on your back, then
it is blasphemy to imply that the Holy Ghost can ride you in peace!
They are all gone out
of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does
good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they
have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full
of cursing and bitterness. (Rom 3:12-14)
Those who still live in sin
(iniquity) are wild, untamed “beasts.” They lie, even about the simplest
things, and they are deceptive like the “Serpent” of long ago. Those who express
anger mouth off.
Cursing and wrath does not make
for a good and rational argument. Those who resort to the bestiality of the
Devil are providing evidence that their argument is in vain. Christians would
respond to dissension with patience and reasonable words; and only children
still of the Devil would curse and be bitter.
Would you go to a doctor with a
valid malady if you knew his response would be vile? No, you would expect the
good doctor to be reasonable and reassuring. He would not offer anger and vile
talk but a proven remedy. Anger and hostility are the absence of any proof. It
is the last resort for those who have no reason left in them; their bronco is
showing, and it needs more corralling and a little more spurring.
With that said, parents, children,
and everybody should consider this commentary. If a parent spurs with too great
intensity, it destroys the horse. We too must measure the words that we use
because we all have sinned.
The commandment is not for just
parents that are pure and righteous, but for parents who fail as well. If a
child cannot respect a parent nor the parent respect the child, then the bond
is broken, and the broken bond cannot be bonded again.
When I was training my teenagers, they all at one time said, " I hate you!" Later in life all three told me, "Thank you for bringing me up right." It was a tough ride for both me and them. Sometimes I fell off the broncos and sometimes they flailed until they failed. Hopefully, they all, even me, will be tamed by the Authority in Heaven, but before you can get into Ok Corral, we all must submit while we are here.
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