Are You Over Christ?

It is a sad condition of the heart. That which - at one time - caused great excitement and motivation, now, hardly causes a whimper in the soul. The new, becomes old.

The brand new job, becomes the "daily grind". The car so desired and saved for, becomes rusty and uncared for. The year-long anticipation of a 7-day family trip overseas, becomes a week-long anticipation for home.

We ask and we wonder, "is there anything that can keep our heart's desire's?"

Apparently, the Apostle Paul found something that so transfixed his heart's gaze that he scarcely waned in excitement and anticipation of it. His object of affection was not waning in its newness or joy. What was it?

It was the personhood and reality of Jesus Christ. Why couldn't he get over him?

To Paul, Christ was everything. Out of the blue, Christ rescued Paul from a life of certain destruction. When he finally knew Christ, he also knew the life he had once lived - and it was a wake-up call. With new eyes, he saw the beauty and the glory of Christ. How Christ redeems and renews. How He calls the wayward and sets them on a sure path. He finally saw that life was not a never-ending series of new things we try on and grow out of, but of redemption and newness that could only be found in this Savior.

With new eyes, we too will see some of what Paul saw. We will not grow tired of yet another burden to carry, another day to live, another clock to punch - but we will see that each next moment offers us a chance to live in the newness of life that Christ has set before us, in Him, by His strength. Each "old" and tired thing is redeemed, by Him and through Him. Each new day is a chance to make Christ known in a world that is seeking redemption through tired means.

In Christ, the old, becomes new again.

O Lord, help us to never get over you and your ability to make all things new.