Last week we planted our garden. Most of it was from seeds. It has been fun watching the soil and looking
for the plants to sprout up. Yesterday, I
was surprised to see a bunch new plants sprouting out from the soil. As I looked at them I thought of 1 Corinthians
5:17.
Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold,
all things have become new.
I am a new creation. I no longer look at things the same way. My desires are new and the old things have lost
their power to attract me. The things
that used to really matter to me no longer matter. This new life in Christ is working itself into
every detailed part of my being. I even think differently.
This promise of being a new creation is for anyone. Anyone can
be a new creation in Jesus Christ. This is something God alone can do in us. He changes those who come to Him by faith and He gives them the
power to please Him and do what is right.
Living as a new creation is something God
works in us, using our will and our choices. We must both receive the gift of being a new creation,
and live the life of a new creation.
When you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in
your life and in your thought life. And when a crisis comes you are the most
amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. This does
not happen overnight but as you progress in your Christian walk you will notice
your desires change and they start matching to your position, in Christ.
Does this mean we will never see any of those old habits or hang ups in
our new life? No, though we are free from the penalty of sin and we are no
longer compelled to obey sin, we are still in these corruptible bodies and therefore
we will commit sins. The difference is that before, our old self would
continually and willfully chase after sin, but now that we are in Christ we
have a new power to resist the pull of sin. Now, in Christ, the general
direction of our conduct and the bent of our behavior are all upward. God wants to do a new thing in our lives.
The old things have passed away and all things have become new.
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