In Christ: Know It, Live It - 56 (Which Am I: Old or New?)

Andre is a fictional character. He is a 9-year old street kid in Odessa, Ukraine who is living the dream. He was living a nightmare...the nightmare of daily begging for food, of ducking into the shadows when a police officer hit the radar, of wearing the same stinking, dirty clothes 24/7, and of keeping house in and around the underground steam pipes that wound throughout the city.

One day as Andre was doing his street kid survival thing, a long, shiny stretch limo pulled alongside the curb where Andre was begging. A deeply tinted window rolled down and a kindly looking man motioned for the kid to come over. Andre had heard of such invitations. Some friends of friends had disappeared after getting into such cars. But there was something different about this man. His words were not slick and polished. Andre could see he was not alone. Next to him sat a woman and next to her a girl...a clean, happy looking girl.

"My name is Mr. Koshenko. This is my wife, Irene, and this is my daughter, Anastasia. What is your name, son?" "Andre." "Andre, we have been looking for someone just like you. We can see that you are probably on your own, begging and doing whatever you must to stay alive. Are we correct?" "Yes." "Andre, we want you to become part of our family. I want to be your father, Irene wants to be your mother, and Anastasia wants you to be her brother."

At this point Andre takes a step back from the window, half expecting the door of the limo to open and a strong arm to grab him and force him into the back seat. He has been stupid enough to fall for such tricks before. Not this time. No way. But...there IS something different about this man...

"Andre, I know my words may seem like a cruel deception. But we ARE serious. We want you to leave your life on the street and come to live with us in our home...as a family. We will take care of all the paperwork with the authorities. We will provide for all you need. You will have new clothes, plenty of food, you will be safe, you will have our name...Andre Koshenko...and we will love you like you were born into our home."

"Will you come with us?"

The best stories about a new life Andre had ever heard, dreamy stories from his friends around the steam pipes late at night, could not begin to rival the stunning invitation he was hearing as he stood, mouth agape, on the cobblestones of this dingy Odessa street. Could it be true? Was someone preparing to rouse him to consciousness after a long night's sleep by the pipes? WHY would a fine looking family like this choose him...? No...it HAD to be a trap. They would kidnap him and sell him as a slave for the diamond mines! But as Andre reasoned back and forth, looking for mental footing in his swirling mind, he could not escape the dead earnestness of the family's eyes. Were those tears streaming down their cheeks? THEY REALLY MEAN IT! There was no escaping the love and compassion emanating from this kind, wealthy, and strange family.

What kind of power overcame Andre that afternoon to cause him to hazard all he knew and "trusted" in to put himself into the hands of the Koshenkos was to remain a mystery for some time. But one thing was for sure...from the moment he responded to Anatoliy's (Mr. Koshenko) invitation, life was never the same. He DID receive beautiful new clothes. He did eat to his stomach's content...and beyond. He did live in a home (above ground!) with his own room. His name was changed to Andre Koshenko. And best of all, he was a son and a brother...to people who WANTED him in their family. This castaway of a boy was now the new found treasure of the Koshenko family.

Funny thing though...some evenings at supper Andre would sit down to a bountiful meal only to notice that there was enough for everyone to have a full plate, but NOT enough for everyone to have seconds. And so, with the seconds in mind, Andre would eat like an old street buddy was waiting to snatch his food and head for the sea. Dad Anatoliy would then ask, "Andre, why are you eating so fast? It is bad for your digestion!" Embarrassed and not exactly knowing why, Andre would shrug his shoulders between fork-fulls of food. Dad and mom would pursue the issue, however. Eventually Andre would realize that it was his old street kid instincts that caused him to doubt that there would be another plentiful meal past the present one. So...cram it down while you can! At such times, and in the beginning weeks and months there were MANY such times, Andre's parents would assure him once again that he was indeed THEIR son and that all their wealth was now his. They had plenty and therefore HE had plenty. They confirmed their love to him and encouraged him to eat and speak and dress and think more and more like a Koshenko. He was NO LONGER Andre the destitute street kid, he was now - and would always be - Andre Koshenko, son of Anatoliy and Irene, and brother of Anastasia.

Brothers and sisters, this is a brief parable of our life in Christ. Who could believe at first hearing, the astounding invitation from the Father to come in from the streets of the world and the destitute life of sin and rebellion we knew, to become His sons and daughters? Who could believe that all this was offered to us simply because of the LOVE of the Father through the sacrifice of the Son? But by the irresistible grace of God the Spirit used the Father's gospel words of invitation to overcome all our doubts and fears and draw us to a willing YES to His family offer. Who could have imagined the riches that the Father would shower on us in Christ? And who has not STRUGGLED, day by day and week by week and year by year with the old ways of lost rebel sinner thinking and acting and speaking that was us BEFORE Christ. How often we grab for pleasure or stuff or glory because the remnants of the old life still exert their ugly heads. But how wonderful that the Father gently speaks to us through the Word to remind us that we are NOT WHO WE WERE. We ARE new creatures in Christ.

We will, the Lord willing, look at this process of putting off the old and putting on the new in Ephesians 4:17-32 in the days ahead.

For now, revel in the new life that is yours from the Father in the Son. Live up to who you are in Christ!