Truly New

Galatians 5:22-26

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASAS WAS a Spanish historian in the sixteenth century who chronicled some of the earliest experiences of Spanish settlers of the New World. His description of the indigenous people found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola is often used as an object lesson in history courses: “Of all the infinite universe of humanity, these people are the most guileless, the most devoid of wickedness and duplicity, the most obedient and faithful to their native masters and to the Spanish Christians whom they serve. They are by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable, holding no grudges, free from embroilments, neither excitable nor quarrelsome . . . the most devoid of rancors, hatreds, or desire for vengeance of any people in the world.”^a

Stories like this are not unusual. Indigenous people who had never heard the gospel were often portrayed as being more kind and content than the “Christians” who conquered or colonized them. This isn’t always the case, of course; plenty of pre-Christian cultures were contentious, violent, fractured, and depraved. But if we’re looking for evidence that Christian societies are inevitably godlier than those that are non-Christian, we may be disappointed. And in modern conversations about the virtues of Christianity, we may get lumped in with transgressors of any era.

It’s easy for us to dismiss those transgressors as nominal Christians who were not really living by faith but were simply power-hungry, fallen humans who never had any real experience with the Spirit. That may or may not be true. What is true, however, is that the Christian gospel either transforms the human heart from within or makes matters worse; it either satisfies or frustrates, it brings either contentment or anger, depending on the response and faith of the believer. It can be a matter of empty words or full hearts. And the watching world can’t always discern the differences.

That makes it all the more important to live with a transformed nature. People are hungry for evidence of real change but cynical about the possibility. You are called to be a demonstration of its reality—to be the difference the world needs to see.

{Lord, the world is much too full of self-proclaimed Christians with unchanged hearts. May I never fall into that pattern. Empower me by your Spirit to defy expectations and live with your nature always. Amen.