"Wish I Could Have . . ."

What Two Friends Said:

One of the key aspects of my recent book, Rescuing Hidden Hearts, focuses on a concept that is central to the Christian experience. But which is also a slight twist on that central concept.

Most Christian believers know and understand the concept of “new man” that is presented in the Bible. Importantly, it’s a concept that applies equally as well to women and men.

In Christian theology, the "new man" refers to the transformed, renewed, and spiritual state of a believer after receiving—through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

The “old man (or woman)”, by contrast, represents the former, sinful self. Becoming a ‘new’ person, signifies a new creation, a spiritual rebirth, and a commitment to living according to God's will.

Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church states it this way. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

In Rescuing Hidden Hearts, I take that new man concept and examine it in a much more personal, more imperative, manner.

In the book, I cite the importance of not only being a new creation, a new man, but also the importance of being a NOW man … someone who lives and breathes and has their being in the present. No more living with regret about what happened in the past; no more living with fear about what may happen in the future. Stay in the moment. Stay in the NOW.

Quite some time ago, I was talking with two friends—Steven and Jerry—about this idea of the NOW man and all its implications. Their points of view and assertions were valid, and opened to me some different perspectives.

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Steven: “You say none of us is eternal … but we are. We have a promise that we will live eternally with God. God knew us before creation, he formed us before the world was formed. There is an eternal path that we are on.”

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The French Jesuit priest and theologian, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, put it this way. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” 

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Jerry: “I study near-death experiences. Those people who have near-death experiences all say it is so real, that it feels like being home. It makes the physical realm seem like a dream state. We are eternal beings … everlasting … we have a beginning, but we have no end. But we are not like God, who has no beginning and no end.”

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Steven: “We need to take some ownership of the past. I wrestle with the past. It’s part of my story. You say, ‘Just give up your past.’ It’s not that easy. We make choices that impact who we are, or who others are. I have a tough time saying I can separate myself from my past . . . rectify the past. I don’t disagree with the NOW man, but I can’t release myself from the past. Terry got help from counseling to get released from the past. How are we supposed to go about dealing with those past issues?”

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Jerry: “There are two aspects of the past. One is the chains that are holding us back. Terry’s point is that we should not be chained, we need to be free from that. Like that verse from Philippians … ‘for I press on to take hold …’ ”

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Jerry: “We’re supposed to have a vision of the hope of the future. Jesus endured the cross for the joy before him . . . But, the flip side of that, is that God uses the past to help prepare us for what is to come.”

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One truth is clear. Every woman and man on this earth faces a struggle, a choice and a challenge. Stay where you are and who you are; accept Christ’s invitation to become a new creation. Or live life in this moment. In the NOW.

It’s the only place we’re supposed to be.