New Creation

Paul nailed the world onto Jesus’ cross 
and then climbed up on the other side  
to imitate Christ, he spread his arms wide 
and said that everything prior is loss. 

“I bear the marks of Christ on my body,”
he says and gains outstanding credibility.
A lot of good such grandstanding does me, 
I can’t compete with the bar that lofty.

I don’t mean this as a criticism
I’m just not made for asceticism;
a loser at redemptive suffering,
an also ran in monasticism.

So, how can I be a new creation?  
Paul says, “The grace of Jesus Christ be yours.”
Paul excels at opening new doors
We are made new not by imitation

each disciple finds the mortification
that drives out the devil unique to him
and tunes them to the Spirit’s rhythm  
that makes them into a new creation.

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Images courtesy of WikiMedia Commons