A New Creation
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
When I thought back on my childhood and my dad, I realized how hard it was for him to be his true self. His father was very abusive, so he developed his own mindset on chastisement and how we were supposed to act. He was extremely harsh and justified his actions as keeping us out of jail. My mother did divorce him, but if he would have stayed around long enough, he would have seen us as being well-behaved or my mom would have ‘killed us and told God we died’. (That was a saying back in the day, but everyone knew what that meant - act right and get it together!)
I saw my dad’s past haunt him like a ghost. He felt his past disqualified him and prevented him from moving forward. I wonder how many Christians feel that same way. This is what keeps many from following God, thinking we are stuck in our old habits and lifestyles. But the Bible says differently, just as our key verse states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Many in the Bible had to press past their past to step into God’s calling for their lives - Moses, Jonah, Peter, David. The best example is Paul the Apostle. He was a well-learned man who felt his passion was to persecute people of the Way – Christians, all in the name of God. He even went to the Chief Priest to obtain a decree that gave him authority to arrest anyone following Jesus. (Acts 9:1) Now, it would be very confusing if Paul, who wrote many New Testament books, had continued to murder Christians after he became one himself. (Acts 9:3-18). The powerful thing about Paul is that he did not turn back.
I think you will agree when I say we all have a past and maybe done some things we are not proud of. How do we step into our life as a “new creation” when everyone knows us for who we were? It is through the power of the Gospel that we have hope in the newness of life, and there is a resurrection story for us!
When I thought back on my childhood and my dad, I realized how hard it was for him to be his true self. His father was very abusive, so he developed his own mindset on chastisement and how we were supposed to act. He was extremely harsh and justified his actions as keeping us out of jail. My mother did divorce him, but if he would have stayed around long enough, he would have seen us as being well-behaved or my mom would have ‘killed us and told God we died’. (That was a saying back in the day, but everyone knew what that meant - act right and get it together!)
I saw my dad’s past haunt him like a ghost. He felt his past disqualified him and prevented him from moving forward. I wonder how many Christians feel that same way. This is what keeps many from following God, thinking we are stuck in our old habits and lifestyles. But the Bible says differently, just as our key verse states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Many in the Bible had to press past their past to step into God’s calling for their lives - Moses, Jonah, Peter, David. The best example is Paul the Apostle. He was a well-learned man who felt his passion was to persecute people of the Way – Christians, all in the name of God. He even went to the Chief Priest to obtain a decree that gave him authority to arrest anyone following Jesus. (Acts 9:1) Now, it would be very confusing if Paul, who wrote many New Testament books, had continued to murder Christians after he became one himself. (Acts 9:3-18). The powerful thing about Paul is that he did not turn back.
I think you will agree when I say we all have a past and maybe done some things we are not proud of. How do we step into our life as a “new creation” when everyone knows us for who we were? It is through the power of the Gospel that we have hope in the newness of life, and there is a resurrection story for us!