Newness
Happy New Year everyone!
At least, we hope it is a happier year than last year, right? Our culture has experienced a multitude of problems in regard to Covid such as loss of income, loss of jobs, loss of loved ones, the inconvenience of masks and the difficulty associated with quarantine and stay in place orders. Graduations, sporting events, concerts and travel plans were all affected by Covid as well. We have experienced the craziness of the national election made more difficult by media coverage.
Through all of this chaos, God is still in control. As Christians, we can rest in the fact that nothing happens outside of His knowledge. God does not say, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming.”
The idea of a new year holds excitement for many. “What does the future hold for me?” Although our future remains yet to be lived and experienced, we do know the One who holds that future. Similar to the idea of a new year is the newness we, as believers, experience when we place our faith in Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
What this means is that everything you were before has been eliminated. We as believers have been recreated into sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. God did not take what you were and rebuild it into something modified or made better. This would be like taking and old vehicle and repairing it, replacing old parts and painting it to make it look new. The problem is the vehicle is not new; it is rebuilt or restored. God has removed our old nature and everything about us that separates us from Him and makes us a completely new creation!
Romans 8:1 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 5:9 tells us, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
When we believe in Christ, we are created new. We have been justified (declared innocent) and furthermore, we are no longer under condemnation (being condemned of our disobedience to Him) but are able to escape the wrath of God because of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.
As we enter into this new year, always keep in the forefront of your mind the new creation God has created in You. The miracle of forgiveness and the fact that we are His possession will help us to weather the difficulties that lie ahead. There will be good days and bad, times of rejoicing and sorrow to come, but our God is always with us providing light for the way.