“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)
I’ve been thinking and pondering the last part of that verse. “the old has gone, the new has come!”
I know a few people whose faces come to mind when I think about that verse. Had you known these people before they came to know Jesus as their Savior you would think you were speaking to a different person today. They are not the same. The old life has been replaced with a new life. Exactly what this verse describes has taken place in these people’s lives.
But there are other faces that also come to mind, and these people have not changed. In fact, if you saw these other people today you would likely find them doing the same things you saw them doing last year, or even five years ago.
What’s the difference? Why do some people embrace their new life in Jesus while others continue to embrace their old life? Did the latter group simply say some words and never really meant it when they asked Jesus to be their Savior? As a pastor, I nearly always wonder if their is something more I should have done to help them. Should I have explained something differently? Was I unclear in some important area?
God’s beautiful and marvelous creation gives us magnificent examples of what God tells us in His word. God has given us the caterpillar to help us understand what it means to have a new life. This prickly and plump little creature crawls around on trees eating leaves, until one day he wraps himself up for a long nap. When he awakens from that long nap he manages to wiggle his way out of his cocoon, but everything is new. His short bumps for legs have been replaced with long slender legs. His prickly and plump body has been replaced with a slender smooth body. And where did those beautiful wings come from? And where did he learn how to flap those wings and fly? But there is still something else. Instead of going from leaf to leaf and eating his fill, his appetite has changed so that now he goes from flower to flower eating nectar. What happened? What happened is that caterpillar is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.
When a person asks God to forgive them from all those things that displeased a perfect God, when they ask Jesus to be their Savior and to take over control of their life, when they ask God to make them a part of His family, at that point a change takes place. God’s word tells us that His Spirit enters their life and they are no longer the same person.
As I read what the Apostle Paul’s wrote I’m convinced that he recognized the same problem. Notice what he wrote: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Paul wanted these people to make sure they really were part of God’s family and weren’t being deceived by Satan into just thinking they were different.
Can you point to a time in your life when you became a new creation? Has their been a change in your life like the caterpillar that changed into a butterfly? I sure hope so! But if not then I hope you’ll ask Jesus to make that change in you. Not sure how? Drop me a note. It would be my privilege to show you from God’s word, the Bible, how God wants to give you a new life. You can contact me at JimSteenland@gmail.com.
Until next time,
Pastor Jim
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