My Pumpkin Life: Part 2
In part one, I began writing about how my life is like a pumpkin. I was just minding my own business, when God pierced my pumpkin life with the knife of the gospel. When He pierced me, He offered a wonderful opportunity for me to become His child and for Him to begin an amazing transformation on the inside which works itself out into my behavior as well.
Once God pierced through my hard heart with the knife of the gospel, I was confronted by the sickness within me, and I surrendered my life to His handiwork. The next thing God did was…
GOD PULLED OUT THE YUCK OF SIN AND DEATH AND GAVE ME LIFE.
Let’s take a look at a pumpkin. Do you see the scars and warts on the outer shell of the pumpkin? No pumpkin is perfect, and no person is perfect (except Jesus). We all have hang-ups. We all have sin. That sin distorts the image of God in us. In my life, I tried to color over those scars and warts, but there is something grosser on the inside.
Look inside a pumpkin. It’s filled with gross fibers and sliminess and seeds. If you want to make a nice carving in the pumpkin, that stuff has to go. Even if you could hide the warts and blemishes on the outside of the pumpkin, there is all that yuck on the inside. Similarly, we can try to hide the scars in our lives so that others can’t see, but God sees the yuck of sin on the inside. Paul from the New Testament wrote, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a CSB). All of us sin, so all of us deserve death. Paul also wrote, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else” (Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT).
We were enemies of God and alienated from Him. Our minds were hostile toward Him, and that hostility was expressed by the evil things we did which were all contrary to God’s goodness and holiness (Colossians 1:21). We are all covered and infused with the yuck of sin. In fact, our hearts are hardened and darkened, and there is nothing you or I can do to fix ourselves. We are dead in sin. We are disobedient children under the wrath of God. We are lost sheep who need the way home. We are blind, deaf, dumb, and lame beggars who are hopeless without a hero.
BUT GOD…
…replaced my wretchedness with righteousness
...exchanged my sin for salvation
…traded my guilt for glory
…all because of Jesus.
I only gave you the first parts of the those verses above. Look again.
“For the wages of sin is death, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.” (Romans 6:23 CSB)
“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins… BUT GOD IS SO RICH IN MERCY, AND HE LOVED US SO MUCH, THAT EVEN THOUGH WE WERE DEAD BECAUSE OF OUR SINS, HE GAVE US LIFE WHEN HE RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD. (IT IS ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED!)” (Ephesians 2:1-5 NLT)
“Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. BUT NOW HE HAS RECONCILED YOU BY HIS PHYSICAL BODY THROUGH HIS DEATH, TO PRESSENT YOU HOLY, FAULTLESS, AND BLAMELESS BEFORE HIM.” (Colossians 1:21-22 CSB)
I love that.
But the gift of God.
But God is so rich in mercy.
But now He has reconciled you.
This is God piercing souls with the gospel and rescuing them from their own miry sin and destruction and giving them a new heart and placing their feet on the Rock. This is my pumpkin life, and all I have is gratitude for what He has done.
I have a friend back in Central Texas. He was gloriously saved one day. He'd been hooked on drugs for years since he was a teenager, but God pierced his pumpkin heart with the gospel. He surrendered his life to God’s control and has never been the same. He devoured the Bible. He couldn’t get enough of it. He was saved in a January and started reading the Bible and then finished by the end of March. He read when he got up in the morning, during his breaks at work, when he got home, and before going to bed. Before too long, he was leading a recovery ministry at our church. Last I heard from him, he was still leading a recovery meeting each week and working in a motorcycle outreach. God delivered him from the yuck of sin and death and gave him life. God also gave him something else.
GOD PUT HIS LIGHT INSIDE US TO SHINE TO THE WORLD.
If you’ve been saved, you’re a trophy of God’s grace. When you go through your life, you’re to shine the light that He placed inside you to show off His grace poured all over your life. When God saves, He places the light of His Spirit inside believers. Paul said, “He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22 CSB). If you’re a true believer in Christ, then you have the Spirit of God within, and you're Jesus’ light in the world. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16 CSB). True Christians have a testimony to tell and a life to live for Christ.
Preacher Vance Havner once said, “We don't have a secret to be hidden but a story to be heralded.” Later, Joseph Alrich said, “God’s evangelistic strategy in a nutshell is this: He desires to build into you and me the beauty of His own character, and then put us on display.”*
Let that light shine, believers. Some of you, however, haven’t yet given up your life to Jesus. If you believe the good news of Jesus that He came and lived for you and died for you and came back to life on the third day, then stop resisting God and surrender your life to Him.
Consider these questions.
If God has pierced your heart with the gospel and traded your slimy sin for salvation, why not tell someone today or this week about how He has rescued you.
*Robert J. Morgan. Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 2000. p. 777).
Once God pierced through my hard heart with the knife of the gospel, I was confronted by the sickness within me, and I surrendered my life to His handiwork. The next thing God did was…
GOD PULLED OUT THE YUCK OF SIN AND DEATH AND GAVE ME LIFE.
Let’s take a look at a pumpkin. Do you see the scars and warts on the outer shell of the pumpkin? No pumpkin is perfect, and no person is perfect (except Jesus). We all have hang-ups. We all have sin. That sin distorts the image of God in us. In my life, I tried to color over those scars and warts, but there is something grosser on the inside.
Look inside a pumpkin. It’s filled with gross fibers and sliminess and seeds. If you want to make a nice carving in the pumpkin, that stuff has to go. Even if you could hide the warts and blemishes on the outside of the pumpkin, there is all that yuck on the inside. Similarly, we can try to hide the scars in our lives so that others can’t see, but God sees the yuck of sin on the inside. Paul from the New Testament wrote, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a CSB). All of us sin, so all of us deserve death. Paul also wrote, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else” (Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT).
We were enemies of God and alienated from Him. Our minds were hostile toward Him, and that hostility was expressed by the evil things we did which were all contrary to God’s goodness and holiness (Colossians 1:21). We are all covered and infused with the yuck of sin. In fact, our hearts are hardened and darkened, and there is nothing you or I can do to fix ourselves. We are dead in sin. We are disobedient children under the wrath of God. We are lost sheep who need the way home. We are blind, deaf, dumb, and lame beggars who are hopeless without a hero.
BUT GOD…
…replaced my wretchedness with righteousness
...exchanged my sin for salvation
…traded my guilt for glory
…all because of Jesus.
I only gave you the first parts of the those verses above. Look again.
“For the wages of sin is death, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.” (Romans 6:23 CSB)
“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins… BUT GOD IS SO RICH IN MERCY, AND HE LOVED US SO MUCH, THAT EVEN THOUGH WE WERE DEAD BECAUSE OF OUR SINS, HE GAVE US LIFE WHEN HE RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD. (IT IS ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED!)” (Ephesians 2:1-5 NLT)
“Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. BUT NOW HE HAS RECONCILED YOU BY HIS PHYSICAL BODY THROUGH HIS DEATH, TO PRESSENT YOU HOLY, FAULTLESS, AND BLAMELESS BEFORE HIM.” (Colossians 1:21-22 CSB)
I love that.
But the gift of God.
But God is so rich in mercy.
But now He has reconciled you.
This is God piercing souls with the gospel and rescuing them from their own miry sin and destruction and giving them a new heart and placing their feet on the Rock. This is my pumpkin life, and all I have is gratitude for what He has done.
I have a friend back in Central Texas. He was gloriously saved one day. He'd been hooked on drugs for years since he was a teenager, but God pierced his pumpkin heart with the gospel. He surrendered his life to God’s control and has never been the same. He devoured the Bible. He couldn’t get enough of it. He was saved in a January and started reading the Bible and then finished by the end of March. He read when he got up in the morning, during his breaks at work, when he got home, and before going to bed. Before too long, he was leading a recovery ministry at our church. Last I heard from him, he was still leading a recovery meeting each week and working in a motorcycle outreach. God delivered him from the yuck of sin and death and gave him life. God also gave him something else.
GOD PUT HIS LIGHT INSIDE US TO SHINE TO THE WORLD.
If you’ve been saved, you’re a trophy of God’s grace. When you go through your life, you’re to shine the light that He placed inside you to show off His grace poured all over your life. When God saves, He places the light of His Spirit inside believers. Paul said, “He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22 CSB). If you’re a true believer in Christ, then you have the Spirit of God within, and you're Jesus’ light in the world. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16 CSB). True Christians have a testimony to tell and a life to live for Christ.
Preacher Vance Havner once said, “We don't have a secret to be hidden but a story to be heralded.” Later, Joseph Alrich said, “God’s evangelistic strategy in a nutshell is this: He desires to build into you and me the beauty of His own character, and then put us on display.”*
Let that light shine, believers. Some of you, however, haven’t yet given up your life to Jesus. If you believe the good news of Jesus that He came and lived for you and died for you and came back to life on the third day, then stop resisting God and surrender your life to Him.
Consider these questions.
- Have you ever surrendered your life to Jesus?
- Is the light of Jesus shining brightly in your life?
- Is the light of Christ being covered by something in your life?
If God has pierced your heart with the gospel and traded your slimy sin for salvation, why not tell someone today or this week about how He has rescued you.
*Robert J. Morgan. Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes (electronic ed.). Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 2000. p. 777).
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