A New Species

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand. Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3 NLT)

Every species on this earth has a characteristic nature. For example, a pig is and always will be a pig. No amount of good behaviour or training can change a pig into a new species. Scripture warns us: "Do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet… (Matthew 7:6)

You could wash the pig and dress it with a little bow on its head, but as soon as you let it go, it will head straight for a mud puddle. Again, scripture clearly points this out.

According to the true proverb: "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:22)

We humans, too, have received a common nature when we were born. Because we live in a fallen, sinful world, we all start out with a fallen nature.

Psalm 51:5 states that we all come into the world as sinners: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin, my mother conceived me."

Ephesians 2:2 says that all people who are not in Christ are "sons of disobedience."

God did not create the human race sinful but upright. But we fell into sin and became sinful due to the sin of Adam. However, when you make the decision to follow Lord Jesus Christ, you miraculously receive a new nature. The impossible becomes possible.

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah), he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified)

You no longer belong to the fallen-human-nature family; now, you're a member of God's family. It's an event that is comparable to changing species.

Since we now have a new nature, we are expected to behave differently. Our spirit man has been made new, but our minds still need to be renewed. There is a process involved, and it's not automatic.

In Colossians 3:1-3, Paul gives us instructions on how to begin this process: think about the things of Heaven. Realizing that you will spend eternity in Heaven changes your focus on Earth. Take that thought with you from now on. It might change the way you plan.

I have been raised to a new life in Christ. I will set my sights (both physical and spiritual) on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God's right hand. I will make it a choice daily to think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth. For I have died to this life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in God.