That Old Suit
People. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. Have you noticed that most of your heartaches and hurts in life result solely from other people? Not from your pet, or your possessions, but from those you love and from those you can’t stand. The deepest hurts and tragedies come from what people say or do. And yet God wants us to live with these people. These people that are selfish and who have their own ideas and think they are better than others. He wants us to live and love these people! What’s even worse, if you haven’t already figured it out, is that you are one of those people!
Some of the deepest joys and love come from other people. They encourage you, help you, pray for you, and carry your burden. The same people do the hurting and the loving. How is this possible? Amazing. I think it’s amazing that He allows us to experience both extremes from one person. And that He allows us to do both to other people. God only loves and He loves perfectly and He is love. If there is anything inside me that does not love and does not act out love, than it’s not from God. It’s part of my fallen nature. That part that has fallen from obeying Him and loving Him. That part that is not redeemed. As a believer, God says that I have been made a new creature, a new person. Yet for now, I’m a new creature living in my old human suit and that suit wants to have its own way. Do you ever say or do something and in the middle of it happening, you wonder why you are doing it? Or right after it happens, you can’t believe that you did it? I love how Paul explains this tug between the new person inside me and the old suit outside me.
”We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:14-20).
Did you get all that? I have to read it a few times. Basically he’s saying that what I should do I don’t, but rather I do what I shouldn’t. He’s not removing responsibility from doing the wrong things. He’s saying that there is a war going on inside him. As a believer, he’s got the spirit of God living inside his sinful body. When that happens, you’ve got a small war. Your soul is redeemed. Your mind is transformed. But your body stays the same. That’s why when we die, we will receive new bodies, spiritual bodies. There will not be any tug of war then.
I believe that God created us for Him but also to experience His love through other people. We are meant to commune and fellowship with others. To hug, laugh, cry, and speak with each other. You don’t have to be a Christian to experience this. It’s how God created every single one of us. His nature is to commune and fellowship and since each of us is created in His image, we naturally desire the same thing. Our fallen nature can distort this and make it into something He did not intend for it to be. We may feel lonely at times and even be lonely at times, but He did not create us to be alone. I truly believe that the fear of being alone will make people do just about anything to avoid it, including putting God aside and people above. I’ve seen it done. As a single person I can relate, even understand, but not necessarily justify. It’s hard to be alone and on your own wondering if this is how it’s going to remain. And yet you do not have to be single to know what I’m talking about. Whatever your status may be, as a believer you’ve got the spirit of God in you struggling with the old suit. We must be able to recognize both of these to be able to know how to live in the Spirit and not act out the flesh. This becomes very real to me not so much when I’m doing or saying something I shouldn’t, but when I experience fears, doubts, and anxiety. When I experience these things, I see that there is something stirring in me to either indulge in these emotions or to see it for what it is in view of God’s Word. My old suit says that I have right to be afraid or doubt because God hasn’t come through. It tells me to look out for myself because no one else is. I’ve got to take matters into my own hands. I have to make it happen myself. The Spirit gently tugs at my heart with Truth. God loves me and He has not forgotten me. He tells me softly that I have people who love me, forgive me, and pray for me. The Spirit always guides me to scripture. The old suit always guides me away.
When I am not loving those around me, it’s evident that the old suit has emerged. We all have the old suit problem. Until we get a new one, we must learn how to live with it. We must learn how to control it and live as new creatures and not as old suits. Again, let’s read what Paul says:
“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-19).
I profess Christ and that He died for my sins and your sins and now as His child, I am to live for Him alone, and not for you or for myself. But part of living for Him is loving you and calling others to be reconciled to Him. What really struck me was that Paul wasn’t going to evaluate people any longer according to the flesh, according to external and worldly standards. Think about that. If I can really not see people in this way, both believers and non-believers, then I would see their sin differently too. When they hurt me or discourage me, maybe I would respond differently to them according to Paul’s view. We are new creatures in Christ, but we are not perfect. We are being perfected, sanctified, and renewed every day through the Spirit. So this means that sometimes I may act from my old suit and when that happens, I have to take responsibility, but also hope that whoever I hurt may have compassion on me. If they are a believer, then they would recognize my old suit, but love me as the new creation. I, too, must respond in that very way to you when you hurt me. I, too, must recognize your old suit, but also mine and respond accordingly. I don’t know about you, but the old suit is crimping my style and I’m ready to throw it out. But I’ve got to wait for death to come or for Jesus to return. Until that happens, I have to learn to live as a new creature and to act and love as new creature, one that has been redeemed.
People. You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. Have you noticed that most of your heartaches and hurts in life result solely from other people? Not from your pet, or your possessions, but from those you love and from those you can’t stand. The deepest hurts and tragedies come from what people say or do. And yet God wants us to live with these people. These people that are selfish and who have their own ideas and think they are better than others. He wants us to live and love these people! What’s even worse, if you haven’t already figured it out, is that you are one of those people!
Some of the deepest joys and love come from other people. They encourage you, help you, pray for you, and carry your burden. The same people do the hurting and the loving. How is this possible? Amazing. I think it’s amazing that He allows us to experience both extremes from one person. And that He allows us to do both to other people. God only loves and He loves perfectly and He is love. If there is anything inside me that does not love and does not act out love, than it’s not from God. It’s part of my fallen nature. That part that has fallen from obeying Him and loving Him. That part that is not redeemed. As a believer, God says that I have been made a new creature, a new person. Yet for now, I’m a new creature living in my old human suit and that suit wants to have its own way. Do you ever say or do something and in the middle of it happening, you wonder why you are doing it? Or right after it happens, you can’t believe that you did it? I love how Paul explains this tug between the new person inside me and the old suit outside me.
”We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:14-20).
Did you get all that? I have to read it a few times. Basically he’s saying that what I should do I don’t, but rather I do what I shouldn’t. He’s not removing responsibility from doing the wrong things. He’s saying that there is a war going on inside him. As a believer, he’s got the spirit of God living inside his sinful body. When that happens, you’ve got a small war. Your soul is redeemed. Your mind is transformed. But your body stays the same. That’s why when we die, we will receive new bodies, spiritual bodies. There will not be any tug of war then.
I believe that God created us for Him but also to experience His love through other people. We are meant to commune and fellowship with others. To hug, laugh, cry, and speak with each other. You don’t have to be a Christian to experience this. It’s how God created every single one of us. His nature is to commune and fellowship and since each of us is created in His image, we naturally desire the same thing. Our fallen nature can distort this and make it into something He did not intend for it to be. We may feel lonely at times and even be lonely at times, but He did not create us to be alone. I truly believe that the fear of being alone will make people do just about anything to avoid it, including putting God aside and people above. I’ve seen it done. As a single person I can relate, even understand, but not necessarily justify. It’s hard to be alone and on your own wondering if this is how it’s going to remain. And yet you do not have to be single to know what I’m talking about. Whatever your status may be, as a believer you’ve got the spirit of God in you struggling with the old suit. We must be able to recognize both of these to be able to know how to live in the Spirit and not act out the flesh. This becomes very real to me not so much when I’m doing or saying something I shouldn’t, but when I experience fears, doubts, and anxiety. When I experience these things, I see that there is something stirring in me to either indulge in these emotions or to see it for what it is in view of God’s Word. My old suit says that I have right to be afraid or doubt because God hasn’t come through. It tells me to look out for myself because no one else is. I’ve got to take matters into my own hands. I have to make it happen myself. The Spirit gently tugs at my heart with Truth. God loves me and He has not forgotten me. He tells me softly that I have people who love me, forgive me, and pray for me. The Spirit always guides me to scripture. The old suit always guides me away.
When I am not loving those around me, it’s evident that the old suit has emerged. We all have the old suit problem. Until we get a new one, we must learn how to live with it. We must learn how to control it and live as new creatures and not as old suits. Again, let’s read what Paul says:
“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-19).
I profess Christ and that He died for my sins and your sins and now as His child, I am to live for Him alone, and not for you or for myself. But part of living for Him is loving you and calling others to be reconciled to Him. What really struck me was that Paul wasn’t going to evaluate people any longer according to the flesh, according to external and worldly standards. Think about that. If I can really not see people in this way, both believers and non-believers, then I would see their sin differently too. When they hurt me or discourage me, maybe I would respond differently to them according to Paul’s view. We are new creatures in Christ, but we are not perfect. We are being perfected, sanctified, and renewed every day through the Spirit. So this means that sometimes I may act from my old suit and when that happens, I have to take responsibility, but also hope that whoever I hurt may have compassion on me. If they are a believer, then they would recognize my old suit, but love me as the new creation. I, too, must respond in that very way to you when you hurt me. I, too, must recognize your old suit, but also mine and respond accordingly. I don’t know about you, but the old suit is crimping my style and I’m ready to throw it out. But I’ve got to wait for death to come or for Jesus to return. Until that happens, I have to learn to live as a new creature and to act and love as new creature, one that has been redeemed.
