A New Creation

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

Meditation

This scripture brings such joy to my heart, both for me and for all those who come to Christ. My life before Jesus saved me was basically a disaster. My thoughts and actions were completely outside of God’s will for my life. I was selfish and pretty much only thought about what I wanted. If that meant I hurt someone, I might be momentarily sorry, but it wouldn’t last long. If I had to lie, that was alright if I got what I wanted. If I could find a way to get something and not pay for it, in other words steal it, I would. It was never anything big, but it was still stealing. I was not a good person by any stretch of the imagination.

For some inexplicable reason however, Jesus thought I was worth saving. What an awesome thought that is to me. He loved me so much he willingly died on the cross to cleanse me of my sins, so that I could be made new! I am not just a different version of my old self, I am a totally new person. The old me is dead and buried. Once I gave my life to Christ every rotten, disgusting, sinful thing I had ever done was forgiven and forgotten. I am brand new, not in how I see myself, but how I see others. I’ve gone from being uncaring to those around me, to a total servant attitude. I want to help people whenever I can now.

Everyone can have that same experience of being made new. All it takes is humbling yourself and repenting from all the wickedness in your life. Once you confess Christ as the Lord of your life, you start from a clean slate as far as God is concerned. You are now clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It’s not like when you forgive someone for a betrayal or for breaking your heart. You might actually forgive the offender, but you will never forget it for the rest of your life. As far as God is concerned, once you’ve repented and turned to Christ, every sin you’ve ever committed is erased from his memory.

That’s the best news for us. He is faithful to forgive and forget our sins. If we keep our lives centered on Christ, we don’t have to spend any time dwelling on the guilt of our past sins. We definitely shouldn’t continuously ask for forgiveness for the same old sins if we’ve asked once already. That’s telling God you don’t believe him when he says he forgives your sins. Instead of dwelling on the past and all the bad things we’ve done, let’s focus on what lies ahead. On how we can be living for Christ today and what we need to do to serve him better tomorrow.

Prayer Time

Lord God, how wonderful and glorious you are! You bring great beauty into our lives with breathtaking landscapes and vistas. The whole world is your possession, including us. We are born rebellious, wanting our own way and refusing to bow to your will. You do not force us, but stand patiently at the door of our hearts waiting to be invited in. Thank you, Father, for being so long suffering with us and forgiving us our many sins. Thank you for making us new when we do invite you to be our Lord and Master. It’s our old sinful wickedness that goes down into the abyss of water baptism. Thank you, Father, that when we rise from those cleansing waters, we are a new creation, reborn into the righteousness of Christ, and we have become your children. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this path to salvation. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen!