All Things New
On our way to a football game with the radio playing in the background, a line from a song caught my attention. I couldn’t tell you anything about the rest of the song, only this line: He makes all things new. The truth in the lyric reminded me of a familiar verse:
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 ESV)
As I started to think about the new year and how to be good stewards of this gift God has given us, my attention has been drawn to this verse -- a familiar verse. But do we grasp the depth of this truth?
What does it mean that we are new creations? It means that we are not just an improved version of ourselves. We have not just been made over; we have been created anew. Because of His atoning work, we are no longer identified with Adam; we are now identified with Christ.
If you are not a follower of Jesus, the invitation is to come and be made new. For the follower of Jesus, the challenge of this verse is to live like a new creation. That is the problem for us: we do not always look or sound like new creations. If we are going to be good stewards of the days He gives and have a Kingdom impact, we have to walk in the new life that He has given.
For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]. (Ephesians 5:8 AMP)
As believers, we are too often shaped by our past and the world around us, and we fail to walk in the new life we have been given. The Apostle Paul’s admonition here is to walk in the Light, as if we have never known another way to walk.
Walking in the Light does not happen by accident. It requires a commitment to discipleship. Earlier in the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul describes the choice to walk in new life as taking off an old garment and putting on a new garment:
In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:22-24 NASB)
As we begin a new year, what life will you be wearing?
By Jesse Smith
Jesse and his wife, Melanie, reside in Lexington, along with their son, Zak.
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 ESV)
As I started to think about the new year and how to be good stewards of this gift God has given us, my attention has been drawn to this verse -- a familiar verse. But do we grasp the depth of this truth?
What does it mean that we are new creations? It means that we are not just an improved version of ourselves. We have not just been made over; we have been created anew. Because of His atoning work, we are no longer identified with Adam; we are now identified with Christ.
If you are not a follower of Jesus, the invitation is to come and be made new. For the follower of Jesus, the challenge of this verse is to live like a new creation. That is the problem for us: we do not always look or sound like new creations. If we are going to be good stewards of the days He gives and have a Kingdom impact, we have to walk in the new life that He has given.
For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]. (Ephesians 5:8 AMP)
As believers, we are too often shaped by our past and the world around us, and we fail to walk in the new life we have been given. The Apostle Paul’s admonition here is to walk in the Light, as if we have never known another way to walk.
Walking in the Light does not happen by accident. It requires a commitment to discipleship. Earlier in the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul describes the choice to walk in new life as taking off an old garment and putting on a new garment:
In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:22-24 NASB)
As we begin a new year, what life will you be wearing?
By Jesse Smith
Jesse and his wife, Melanie, reside in Lexington, along with their son, Zak.
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