Under New Ownership

You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

What does it mean to not belong to myself? I can think of a few things.

It means that I should probably do a lot of consulting with my new owner. There is more to consider than just me and what I want to do; there is God and what He wants me to do.
If you’re anything like me, this makes sense until you begin to wonder over what He wants you to do in certain circumstances. It isn’t always clear.

For this we have scripture and gifted members of the fellowship to consult, but in all instances it is the attitude of the heart that is most important. It is a submissive attitude toward God that He is looking for – what the Old Testament calls a broken and contrite heart. It’s being always open and teachable because I realize my new owner has a different way of looking at things than what comes natural for me. In fact, over time I begin to realize what comes natural for me is often my biggest problem.
Instead of “how much can I get away with here,” God is looking for an “even if I’m not sure, what do I think God would want me to do here” attitude. God is not going to lead astray a humble person who is seeking to do His will.

Our new ownership also means there will be inner conflict. It used to be just me. Now I have me and the Spirit and we may not always be in sync.
In Roman 7, Paul concludes that an inner battle over right and wrong is a good thing because it proves at least that something good is going on. “But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good” (Romans 7:16). Or, in other words, he may have done the wrong thing, but at least he knew it was wrong.

Consider even the Son of God whose joy was always to do the will of His Father in heaven, who in the garden of Gethsemane cried out after sweating blood over it, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42).
It used to be easier. It used to be just me left to the whim of my desires. But all that has changed. I am not my own anymore; I have been bought by God at a high price – the blood of Jesus – and He has a plan and a purpose for me as my new owner.

Now if I could just stop trying to take myself back!

-John Fischer