New Ownership

Imagine you've purchased your first home. The early sense of excitement begins to wane as you meet your neighbors and they tell you horror stories about your residence. They confirm your earlier suspicions that the home was once a drug den as they tell of countless nights of police raids and erratic behavior from both the previous owners and their "customers". Your heart pounds a bit harder as you hear how for many months after your predecessor vacated the premises their "friends" showed up at all hours of the night, banging on all the doors on the street looking for their dealer. Then that pounding heart drops into your stomach as you remember all the letters sent to your mailbox with a return address corresponding to a prison.

The previous owners, for reasons you can only assume, left no forwarding address. Their associates think they still in your new home. 

I believe the Lord offers forgiveness and mercy for all who seek Him, and I want to show His Love to all...but if menacing folk show up at my door at 4 am where my son sleeps, I don't think I'll be interested in entertaining. 

Now, this is YOUR house. You bought it. You are in control of the activities that occur within its walls, and you aren't leaving. So what do you do?

My first instinct is a simple one; change the outward appearance of the house as much as possible. Change the color scheme. Commit to new landscaping. Replace the mailbox. Whatever change is in my power, I'm going to carry out. I want to give any sinister character who shows up enough pause that they stop and realize there's a new owner here. 

Now think for a moment: if the crowd you ran with before coming to Jesus were to see you now, would they know just from looking that the old person isn't there anymore?

It's easy to say "God looks on the heart so my appearance shouldn't matter", but have you ever stopped to think about the fact that the world DOES look on the outside? God certainly knows your heart. He knows to whom you belong. But when your outward appearance doesn't change, you are leading people to believe the same old man or woman resides in your "house", and if they believe you haven't changed, they will expect you to act as you always did. This opens the door for increased pressure and temptation. 

Following the command and receiving the promise of 1 Thessalonians 5:22-23 to, "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." is not just about preserving your witness, it's about protecting your spirit and the work Christ has done in you. When He changes you, everything should change. Your walk, talk, attitude, and yes, perhaps even your dress should be different. 

Is it fair that we can't look or act like everyone else? I don't know, is it fair that a law-abiding home owner has to make changes to deter criminals? The point is, fair or not, if something matters to you, you will do what it takes to protect it. 

Romans 8 reminds us, "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God." 

The process of making "new ownership" apparent requires assessment and hard work. I've been preaching for many years and following Jesus for much longer than that, and I'm still a work in progress in this area. The truth is that if you belong to God, then you aren't the new owner, He is. So seek Him. We must continually ask the Lord to do His sanctifying work in us and we must inquire of Him what our part is in this process so that people will know the old person isn't here anymore.