New robes
Welcome to the third decade of this millennium. It may be that some of you have not even noticed. It’s two thousand and twenty.
If you read what I have been writing here since last year, you will find that I understand that New Year’s Eve is nothing more than day after day.
Even so, we make plans, organize the agenda, promise things, say we will start the diet next Monday. We set goals. We say that we are going to pay off debts and until we will be “better Christians” this new year.
Although I know many of you will reach your goals, I want to suggest a new way of seeing your brothers. It is the vision that I will try – yes, try – to apply to my year much more intensely than I did last year.
Old robes
In December, I finished reading two books that I recommend to everyone. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship” and Tim Keller’s “Transformed Ego” opened my eyes to many things about my life as a true disciple of Christ.
As full as I am in my ministries. Or even within my secular work. As long as I am in total bodily surrender to my church. None of this has value.
Calm down, I am not telling you to abandon your ministerial life. Do not do it! I mean that, by planning and doing so much, we sometimes forget what we actually become. Sons of God. And that we have only one clear and well-defined mission as to how to do this. We must leave what we are behind and put on what we are called to be.
Luke 9:23 Jesus said unto all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself daily, and take up his cross, and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will save her. (25) What good is it for a person to gain the whole world if he is lost or harms himself?
Through it all, I have seen how self-denial is important. As a disciple of Christ, I need to forget myself about everything that comes through my old garments. Wills, desires, judgments about myself etc. These are the garments of a corrupt man, and not of a man made in the image of Jesus Christ the Holy One. And that, according to what I believe, we must leave completely.
New robes
In order to make it clear. I want everyone to know that the only new garment we have is Christ. Putting on his plans can be extremely hard. And it can make many miss this mission because they find it too heavy. Yet I am convinced that there is no way to eternal life but this one. But Christ as teacher and the Christian as one who seeks to be like Him. In everything. Even in suffering. Even in death.
Therefore, as a first text for 2020. I want to appeal to all the brothers to refocus on eternal life. May you give up your life and trust that through His plans, even in the midst of pain, we will have peace and joy. Which comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. The incarnate God who justified us from all sin in His blood and indeed gave us new life. New Robes.
Grace and Peace, brothers!
God bless!
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by
Marcelo Brandão
Marcelo Brandão, 24 anos, profissional de comunicação. Fui desenhado no barro para ser um elo de amor entre Jesus e as pessoas.
