Old & New

2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17 is one of my favorite verses, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” This, to me, is one of the most beautiful promises in all of scripture. When you accept Jesus, you become brand new. Jesus referred to this Himself in John 3:3 when He told Nicodemus he must be born again. Nicodemus took that to mean (probably sarcastically) re-entering his mommy’s tummy to be delivered a second time. Jesus then talked about being born of the Spirit. So here’s the key: it isn’t about what you get into, but who you allow into you. In other words, being born again isn’t what you do, but what God does IN you. God’s redeeming Spirit delivers you from your worn-out-burned-out way of living into a new family…His family…the family you were always designed by which to be identified. As 2 Corinthians 5:18 goes on to say this is God’s gift. So YOU can’t do it on your own anyway, outside of accepting the gift, believing in Jesus, and confessing your need for a savior (hey, there are my salvation ABCs again!). So you want a new life? To have those dark skeletons removed from your historical closet? To have your heart beat with new purpose? For your lungs to inflate with new breath? Turn to Jesus! Accept His offer of salvation. Believe Jesus is indeed God’s one and only Son who died so you may live. Confess your need for a Savior, who is Christ Jesus our Lord. And live differently as a result, because “the old life is gone; a new life has begun!”