by David Lee

When one becomes a Christian, change occurs in one’s life. As Paul writes in Galatians, the Christian proclaims that “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…” Personally, my life saw many changes when I became a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ a number of years ago. As someone who was enslaved to sin, I joyfully heeded the call to my slavery to righteousness. My then newfound vigor to submit to my Lord (kupios) as his slave (doulous) brought me great comfort in understanding my life to be in His sole ownership. Moreover, I aligned my perspective of people as well as of Christ himself to one that is consistent with a biblical worldview. I began to view Christ as my Lord and Savior, and to view people with an understanding of their spiritual needs. Alas, here I am now, sitting six years past from the moment the God of the universe grasped me in His grip of salvation. As Roger Alcaraz preached on the eve of a recent midsummer bible study, he posed a challenge to me: Am I viewing Christ and people the way I should be?

In a sermon titled “A New Outlook on Life,” Roger expounded upon 2 Corinthians 5:16-17. His first point reminded us that Christ’s death should change our perspective on people. We see that in verse 16, Paul writes that as believers, “we regard no one according to the flesh.” Before one becomes a believer, the lens through which one views people is, sadly, primarily based on external judgment and under a worldly standard. A further assessment of the unbeliever’s view of people demonstrates that it is most often associated with self-centered motives. “What can this person do for me?” “ I’ve just met this person, but I don’t know how I feel about him/her. Does he/she make me feel good about myself?” These are often thoughts that most people don’t readily admit to have running through their heads. Even as believers, we struggle with these very thoughts. But as those who claim to follow Christ, how exactly should we be viewing people? 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that “…the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks upon the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Clearly, we humans are not capable of looking on each other’s hearts, but the challenge posed here should be rather striking to us. Rather than regarding someone according to the flesh, we should be glancing over the simple outward appearance of man to avert our gaze with deep intention to consider the needs of the soul. Indeed, the cliché “It’s what’s on the inside that counts” comes to mind. But consider this, Christian: our perspective on the family, friends, and strangers around us who are in desperate need of the gospel should serve as an impetus for our desire to share His Word.

Furthermore, we believers have a new perspective on Christ. In Acts 26:9-11, Paul writes of his former hatred for Christians. Verse 11 reads, “And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” How marvelous is Paul’s conversion, that he once heavily persecuted Christians himself, but upon his conversion to saving faith, only grew to love God more and more! As I reflect upon my own testimony, I am reminded by this passage of my need to actualize my profession of belief with the manner in which I live my life. I pray that my appreciation for Christ’s death and resurrection would invigorate my zeal for the gospel, flowing from my soul in an outward demonstration of loving others more. As the passage in 2 Corinthians continues, Paul states that we are a new creation. “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (v. 17). As I consider the stark contrast between Paul’s life before and after his conversion, I wonder and present myself with this question: Am I portraying a similar transformation from my “former self”? Am I indeed an entirely new creation in Christ and not simply an “updated version”? Roger’s message challenged me to also evaluate how well I am living out the Passion of LBC’s MVP. As a Christian, my perspective on Christ and people should cause me to love God and people more, for it is because God first loved us by sending His son to die on our behalf that I can subsequently love those around me (1 John 4:19). My prayer is that our outlook on life may be one that cherishes our identity in Christ as a new creation and heeds the calling to honor our Almighty Father not only with our reverence of Him, but with our love for all people.