“You Are More”
By Tracy Smith
“Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is
here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
I love the lyrics to the song, “You are More” by Tenth Avenue
North. The chorus says this:
“You are more than the choices that
you've made,
You are more than the sum of your
past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you
create,
You’ve been remade.” [1]
How many of us define ourselves by our mistakes or struggles in
the past? And by past, we could be talking about five minutes ago! I know I do,
but even beyond that, I define myself by the mistakes, struggles and choices I
make over and over again. We all have those things we truly repent of or work
on but struggle with repeating. We all have those things that in our own strength, we will not have
victory over.
I found the video of this song since I enjoy seeing how artists
put vision to their music. The video had the band singing before a large
chalkboard. On this chalkboard, people were writing those past (and present!)
mistakes and struggles. They wrote down things that were a struggle for them.
The things written on the board were as varied and diverse as the people
writing them. As the camera panned away for a wide view of the board, my jaw
dropped. Right above and to the left of the lead singer were the words “OCD
controls me.” At that moment, I who struggle with OCD myself,
realized two things: (1) There were struggles on that board that every watcher
could relate to, and (2) We are not alone in our struggles. No matter what we
are struggling with, someone else in this world is, too - - we are not alone.
That was comforting to me as I watched.
As the song wound down, again, my jaw dropped. As we watch,
water starts to trickle down the chalkboard, slowly erasing all of the things
written on the board. What a picture! While not on the video,
in my mind, I saw a large cross replace all the written words that had been
there before.
We are so much more than our mistakes, our bad choices and our
struggles; we are a new creation in Christ!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Watch the video for “You Are More.” Do you see something on
the board that you can relate to? If so, does this help you not feel so
alone? http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9E0F1MNU
2. Will you pray that the Lord will help you realize you are so
much more than your mistakes and struggles?
FURTHER READING:
Along with being a wife and mother to two teenage sons, Tracy is
a ministry assistant at Oakwood and works with a great group of Junior High
girls.
