OCT. 24, 2013
Re-Creation
Read: 2
Corinthians 5:12-21
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
Chris
Simpson’s life used to be consumed by hate. After he and his wife lost their
first child, he was confused and angry. He directed that anger toward various
ethnic groups and covered his body with hate-filled tattoos.
After
listening to his son mimic his hatred, though, Simpson knew he needed to
change. He watched a Christian movie about courage and began attending church.
One month later he was baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ. Simpson is now a
new person and is leaving the hate behind him, which includes the painful and
expensive process of having his tattoos removed.
The
apostle Paul knew something about this kind of deep transformation. He hated
Jesus and persecuted His followers (Acts 22:4-5; 1 Cor. 15:9). But a personal
encounter and spiritual union with Christ (Acts 9:1-20) changed all of that,
causing him to reevaluate his life in light of what Jesus accomplished on the
cross. This union with Christ made Paul a new person. The old order of sin,
death, and selfishness was gone and a new beginning, a new covenant, a new perspective
and way of living had come.
Following
Jesus is not turning over a new leaf; it is beginning a new life under a new
Master.
For Further Thought
What is the evidence that my union with Christ
has transformed my old humanity? Are there
indicators that I am not the me I used to be?
Being in Christ is not rehabilitation, it’s re-creation.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
