Me . . . A new creation?   2 Corinthians 5.16-17

As long as hope is alive, a person’s will is alive.   Hope – a desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it. . .  Paul said, ‘and now abide these three things: faith, hope and love.’  As though a great banner in the sky, HOPE is listed up there with faith and love, don’t you find that remarkable?

In our basement prayer meetings with my street friends, we prayed because we had both hope and faith in a God who loves, a God who hears, and desires to answer the prayers of his children.  And what’s more, we participated in the greatest hope of all--when I started the sentence, “If anyone is in Christ . . .” all across the room voices supplied the rest, “he is a NEW CREATION.”  “The old has gone!” I shouted, and they responded, “the new has come!”  Especially for those whose lives have taken a downturn, for those who have lost it all, for those who have many regrets, the possibility of becoming new is almost too good to believe.  Because except for ‘in Christ’, there are no do-overs in life.

When we are ‘in Christ’ our entire perspective changes.  Notice what Paul writes, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Cor. 5.16-17   Now that is glorious indeed!  “Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person.  The past is forgotten, and everything is new.” C.E.V. 

What does it mean to be made new in Christ?  O, where do I start?

To be made new in Christ means

         old ways are replaced by new ways of thinking and acting

         to have the chains of guilt cut away, because

                  freedom and grace take their place

         to be invited to walk and talk with God

         there is hope in tomorrow – a plan and a purpose

         the lonely are not alone, but are part of the great family of God

         the harlot can be a virgin again—not just a cleaned-up version, but pure

               the drug addict can know true health

         the orphaned and fatherless are loved by a Heavenly Father

         the liar and the thief chooses to trade in openness and truth

         the ex-convict has a clean record . . .

Dear Lord, won’t you help us

  live as those who are set free?

    ‘Those whose sins have been forgiven

      whose slates have been wiped clean? 

       ‘Whose futures are not determined by the past,

         ‘Who are not bound to this world,

           but have the hope of Heaven in our hearts? 

            ‘Who are walking with the King,

              instead of slumming with the defiled?

               ‘Who have a rich inheritance

                  and mansions in glory prepared for us!

You made us into new creations, now help us live like it.  Amen.

Therefore, if anyone ins in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person.  The past is forgotten, and everything is new.  Now, let’s go out and live like it!

Christine