21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Here we see the contrast between the old and the new. We are called to reject the desires and tendency of the "old man," the person we used to be before coming to Christ, and we are directed to embrace the "new man," what 2nd Corinthians 5 calls the "new creation." Our ambitions, the daily decisions, the attitudes we possess - all should be governed by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, realizing that our consistent exposure to God's truth will produce fruit that reflects the presence of the Lord in us.
In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul describes what the resurrected life looks life - the life we can have in Jesus Christ. He writes:
28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
He goes on to say:
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Then, we can read later in the passage:
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
He came out of a rough upbringing, one of seven children. He dropped out of school in the 10th grade and pursued a life of crime and alcohol abuse. He was encouraged to respond to his anger by getting into boxing. That's according to The Christian Post, which said that this young man ultimately won an Olympic Gold Medal, then became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
In 1974, though, he lost the title to Muhammed Ali, and not long afterward, George Foreman disappeared from the boxing scene. Twenty years later after the lost to Ali, Foreman regained the heavyweight championship after returning to boxing due to financial hardship.
But, it was what happened to Foreman in 1977 that changed his life permanently and eternally. The Christian Post article said:
In 1977, Foreman retired from boxing after a near-death experience brought him to the Lord. He recalled how, in his dressing room in Puerto Rico, he understood the truth of the Gospel for the first time.
“I was dead. There was nothing left of me,” he recalled. “I stared at nothingness, no hope. I was pulled out of this dirty place, and given a second chance to live. That has kept me grounded.”
Determined to spend the rest of his life sharing the Gospel, Foreman became a minister and, in 1980, founded The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A movie based on his life story has been in theaters recently; it's called simply, Big George Foreman. A review by Michael Foust at Crosswalk.com noted:
The film showcases the power of the gospel but includes other lessons, too. It reminds us to keep our lives "free from the love of money" (Hebrews 13:5). It urges us to place the needs of others before our own. It encourages us to forgive. (Foreman does that several times). It also underscores the importance of a godly family. Foreman may not have walked the narrow path early in life, but he returned to his mom's values later in life.Foust writes: "Boxing forms the backdrop to the bigger story of faith." The review also says:
"The most important thing I'd like for the people who go to the movie to take out is that there is hope," Foreman told Crosswalk. "And there's a reason for our faith – there's a living God. And I'm proof of it. That's all – forget about the boxing and the winning and the losing and all of that. Faith in God is what that movie is about."
Foreman is now 73 years old, and CBN.com reports that he...
...is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He's also known as a successful TV pitchman and entrepreneur after he worked with Spectrum Brands who created and marketed the popular George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, also known as the George Foreman Grill. Since it was introduced in 1994, more than 100 million of the portable double-sided electrically heated grills have been sold worldwide.
He's also the author of 17 books including a children's book, his autobiography, as well as books about boxing and grilling.
About that near-death experience, the CBN story relates that:
He told CBN in an interview several years after the fight, when he returned to his dressing room he sensed he was dying and heard a voice say, "I don't want your money. I want you!"
Foreman's intense spiritual struggle caused raised eyebrows in the dressing room because he started acting out according to the voice he heard.
He finally yelled, "Jesus Christ is coming alive in me!"
He told everyone he loved them and kissed them. They thought he was losing his mind, but when the episode was over, Foreman knew he would never be the same again. After that encounter, he spouted love instead of hate and pursued God instead of a boxing career.
Many of us have had those pivotal moments in our life, when we recognize that our lives in their current state are flatly, not working. George Foreman, at the top of the boxing world, looked into a hopeless future, and Jesus met him. We can be so thankful for a God who loves us so much that He will dramatically intervene in our lives and invite us to experience something more. Now, He doesn't force us, but He certainly will compel us.
George Foreman, as portrayed in the movie, according to the review I referenced, was set free, including from the pursuit of worldly fame and wealth. But, interestingly enough, God gave him an enormous platform - he returned to boxing after a hiatus, and became famous for not only his boxing exploits, but for a product that bears his name. The story of George Foreman shows us how the presence of Christ within us can produce the ability to function in this world in a godly manner - God is not against our having worldly success; we have to learn to manage it for God's glory. It's true for all the areas of our lives; we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to direct us in the decisions that we make every day; dying to the world and living to the Savior.
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