"What's Your True Nature?": A Reflection on the Second Reading for August 5th, 2018: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
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17 Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; 20 You did not so learn Christ! -- 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. 22 Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What does it mean to “put off your old nature” and “put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God”?

God calls us to a new life in Him. If we truly know that we are loved by Him we should desire this for ourselves, too. God’s love is healing, and I think we inherently change in response to His love. So much of our brokenness comes from believing that we are not worthy of love because of our sinful nature. When God reveals himself to us, He breaks down those walls we build up. Without those walls, our capacity to love in return grows. I think we are all witnesses to that transformational love as seen through the experiences of parishioners at Saint Benedict Parish. But I also believe that to “put on our new nature, created in the likeness of God”, takes lots of prayerful intentionality too.

My story of conversion feels more like a life long journey, rather than a pivotal moment in my life that changed me as a person. I was a teenager when I first encountered Jesus in a personal way through His Holy Spirit. This encounter changed my faith, but I wasn’t fully equipped at the time to know how I needed it to change my life. It wasn’t until I better understood what it meant to live a Christ-centered life, that the idea of putting on a new nature made sense to me. Our faith should impact us so deeply that it changes our way of living.

When I was younger, my faith was the foundation for my moral compass, but I still lived a selfish life. I had my own agenda and was less concerned about what God’s will was for my life. Now, as I embrace the new nature I find in Christ, the nurturing of my family has become more important than my career. Spending time in community and building relationships has become more important than accumulating possessions. Trying to discern God’s plan for my life has become more rewarding than any plan I had for my life.

Living life through a more divine nature means seeing the world through a new lens. The song ‘Hosanna’ by Hillsong Worship, has lyrics that really speak to this point:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

If we can begin to see the world through the eyes of Jesus, the way we respond or react to it will change. In our new nature, we will be filled with more patience, compassion and love for others.

Let us pray: Father, help us all to be more intentional about putting on our new nature, so we may all be more Christ-like in both our motives and our actions. Amen.

​Tammy LeBlanc

"​Our faith should impact us so deeply that it changes our way of living."
​- Tammy LeBlanc (Ora Reflections)