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)
I came along 10 years after my closest sibling. So, while I was still in junior high, my older brother got married and started his family. I was an aunt before I even got to high school. Bubba was in the army and deployed, so for a while his new wife and baby lived with us. Everyday after school, I got to come home and play with my niece Emilea. It was kind of like I had a live baby doll and I loved her (still do!).
There is a story about her that I always remember this time of year. When Emi was still really little but didn’t live with us anymore, my brother’s family came over for New Year’s Day. Emilea ran in the house shouting, “Happy New You! Happy New You!” and grinning from ear to ear.
Somehow in her little brain, the phrase happy new year had transformed into something a little different.
Every year, when I start to examine my life and make some new year’s resolutions, I think about that tiny, pixie-like little girl’s wish. A new year is a time to celebrate what is working in your life and get a fresh start on changing those areas that need some adjustment. A new chance for a new ‘you’ right at the start of a new year.
Actually, we can have this moment at any point on the calendar. The turn over of one year to the next just seems like a natural assessment point to me. However, the bible says that when we are “in Christ” all things “become new” – wow! A fresh start, a new life. What amazing grace from our God!
I am going to be making some new year’s resolutions this year and a blog post is coming soon about that, but before I do, I want to celebrate the redeeming power that Christ demonstrated on the cross. He paid the price so the balance of my sin could be erased. I am no longer stained and tarnished by my wrongdoing. I am made new.
But, it is not just a one-time occurrence. We are continually being made new. Paul writes to the church at Ephesus,
“Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:21-24 (ESV)
Christians are not to grow cold or callused or complacent about sin, but are to consistently put away old habits and patterns and put on the new self that Christ has provided them. Maybe that is why Romans says, our newness comes when we are “in Christ.” When we are connected to Him relationally, interacting with Him consistently, we are new creatures.
Action Step: Let’s start this new year off right! I want to look in the mirror and say, “Happy New You!” with a smile from ear to ear. Let’s rejoice and celebrate what God has done for us, committing to live in this newness everyday.
Dear God, thank you that give us a fresh start, forgiveness from our sins, and a new life in You. Remind us not to forget the sense of wonder that Your grace brought us when we first believed. Help us not become cold, callous, or complacent, but to put off our old selves daily and live in the joy of our new lives in Christ. Let 2018 be a year of daily living a life of devotion in action. In Jesus’ name, amen.
