Becoming New
2 CORINTHIANS 5: 11-21
(September 1)
"Out with the old and in with the new." A popular phrase that I am sure most of us have heard at one time or another. Maybe that is our thought as we go through our closet, rearranging and getting rid of things we no longer want or need.
Perhaps this is our thought process as we buy new furniture, or a new home, or new towels for the bathroom. Or when we replace dead plants in our flower bed with new ones.
If we are introspective, then maybe this applies to the condition of our heart. Out with the old "prideful" me and in with the "humble" me. Or out with the "workaholic" me and in with the "take it easier" me.
When we are doing an "out with the old, in with the new" in our hearts and minds, it changes us. We become a new person. Our thoughts change, our attitudes adjust, and our behaviors are not the same as they were.
That is what Paul is speaking of in today's scripture. He is expressing the changes that have been made in his heart, and the other teachers' hearts, because of the love of Christ. He is sharing with them the beauty of dying to your old self and receiving new life in Christ. He wants that for each of them as well.
In verse 17, he says, "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun." The great thing about this is that when we accept the love of Christ into our hearts, we basically get a "do-over." We get to turn away from the darkness of our lives and live in the light of Christ.
We get to do this because of the reconciliation of Jesus. He died on the cross for us. This death on the cross and the blood that was shed offers us the opportunity to turn away from our ugliness and live a new, reconciled life with Jesus. God's grace, bought and paid for by Christ's sacrifice, floods over us and removes the stains of sin from our lives.
This is a gift that is freely given to us from God. He had given Paul and many others the task of preaching and teaching this, so that others would come to him in reconciliation.
How honored Paul was to be an ambassador for Christ! Letting God speak through you to share his message of love to those who are lost is one of the greatest things we can do. Helping others find their "new you" is a calling that every believer has received from God.
Do you remember what it was like when you became the "new you" that lives for Jesus? Do you remember the freedom that you found in knowing you were forgiven, and that you had a new purpose?
How have you taken that "new you" and used it to further the Kingdom of God? Starting today, what can you do differently, or with more intentionality, so that Jesus is glorified to others, especially those who are lost?
God has placed a calling on "new you." And I promise, it is way more satisfying than new clothes, new furniture, a new home, or new towels in the linen closet. (Even if they are the really soft and fluffy kind.)