Anyone else love springtime in Colorado? Sure, the weather is temperamental and you can never dress in enough layers, but there are only a few short weeks when the color of the landscape turns green. The flowers bloom in beautiful colors and trees that have been barren now start to bud. The earth seems to wake up after a long winter slumber and show its new life. It’s a beautiful reminder that God’s mercies are new every morning and that God gives new life to his creation.
We also have new life when we place our faith in Jesus. Before, our lives were described as walking in darkness, dead in our sin, or a long slumber, but now we are transformed into the newness of Christ. You are a NEW CREATION.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
What part is considered “old” and “passed away”? This old self is the part that is spiritually dead, far from God, and enslaved to sin. This is the part that experiences the passing away. Then the newness that comes is the restored life we have with Jesus. We also experience a resurrection as the old dies and the new is raised to life. The new creation that we are in Christ is a complete transformation from the inside out. Our inner self is renewed and changed. When we are this new creation, we no longer walk in the darkness, we are no longer slave to sin, and are no longer spiritually asleep or dead.
In Ephesians 5:14, Paul references the book of Isaiah by saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” This is a call for all of us to wake up, walk out of the darkness, and step into the newness of life with Jesus.
God also makes a promise to the Israelites in Ezekiel that he will restore them as a nation. When he does, he will remove their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh. The old heart of stone will pass away and God will restore to them a heart that is kind, compassionate, and ready to follow God.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
You do not have to be stuck in the life you once lived. Jesus offers a rebirth -- a resurrection -- that brings you out of that life. He renews you and continually changes you on the inside so that your life reflects the light of Jesus shining in you. The old life of sin and death is gone. God has done a complete change in you, and you are his new creation.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the resurrection of Jesus. I believe that you have buried my old life and have raised me up to new life in Jesus. Please continue renewing my inner self and transforming me into the person that you created me to be.