More Than Forgiveness

1 Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.”

3 Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. 4 So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.”

5 Then I said, “They should also place a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by.

Zachariah 3:1-5

One of the things I try and pray on a daily basis is to renew my commitment in Christ to put off my old, sinful nature. I do this both because it's a much needed reminder of where Christ has brought me from and because not a day goes by where some part of me doesn't return to that sinful nature.

Lately as I've been thinking about this I've realized that while it is helpful and needed to pray this daily, and while I do genuinely believe it, I have a hard time living it. As I've been talking to God about why that is, He's been reminding me that while forgiveness, stepping out of our sin and having our slate wiped clean are all wonderful and beautiful promises God has made to us they're not the whole story.

I love the imagery in the passage above. It's exactly what's going on in our lives. The enemy has done his best to take us out and he's got a list a mile long of reasons why God should reject us but instead God rejects him. The picture of a stick snatched from the fire is a beautiful image of Christ's redemption. Just when everything seems hopeless, He comes and rescues from our sin.

But I also love that it doesn't end there. There's a promise in the last two verses that God isn't about just rescuing us and then leaving us to fend for ourselves. What He's up to is restoration, healing, growth and adoption.

There's a beautiful picture of this in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Early on in the story, Fantine, a single mother, is forced to leave her infant daughter, Cosette, in the care of the Thenardiers. She is to pay them a monthly rate and in return they will care for Cosette as one of their own. Eight years later the Thenardiers have long since broken their part of the bargain. Instead of treating her like a daughter, they've made Cosette a slave and are constantly demanding more money each month. Fantine is unable to go to Cosette herself but Jean Valjean promises Fantine that he is going to rescue her daughter.

When Jean Valjean arrives at the Thenardier's inn, Cosette is, in between beatings, being forced to knit new stockings for the Thenardier's daughters, even though she is denied any stockings for herself, new or old, and goes the whole winter in bare feet. Jean Valjean buys the unfinished stockings from the Thenardiers and in doing so he buys the time Cosette would have spent knitting them. He tells her that she is to use that time to stop working and play, something she's never been allowed to do.

It's wonderful. He comes into her life and gives her a freedom from her slavery she had never imagined possible. But there's one problem. Cosette has never been allowed a single doll her entire life. She has nothing to play with. She has her freedom but something's missing.

Jean Valjean goes out of the inn and comes back with the nicest, most expensive doll in the village. Cosette has seen it before but always believed that only a princess would be able to own such a doll. In a few moments, Jean Valjean's love has transformed her from a slave to royalty. He goes on to take her far from the cruelty of the Thenardier's and adopts her as his own.

That is exactly what God promises to do for us.

The reason I struggle (and I suspect I'm not alone) with putting off my sinful nature is because I forget that that's not the end of God is up to in my life on any given day. The freedom from sin He offers is wonderful but we must realize that we need more. We must not be content with just forgiveness when what God is really offering, what He truly desires and longs for, is to make us sons and daughters. Put off your sinful nature and do it daily. But remember too to step into your new nature and the life God is offering.