Something New

Having new things is exciting. From new life when we were born into this world as a baby, to new hope of an occupation, a marriage, a family, goals, and dreams, to everything in between. But is there a way to find something new even in the old? 

When I was a kid, I thought it would be cool to restore a car. In reality that car would still be just as old, but it would have newer paint, or interior, or newer motor. Years later, I would find something satisfying in remodeling homes. Although it can be a lot of work and can be expensive, I’m usually pleased with the transformation. The idea of old things having a new look is something that has made HGTV a household name. 

We usually recognize the hard work that goes into restoration and see how expensive it can be, but people who like to do it appreciate the beauty of the end result. When it comes to our spiritual lives, we can easily recognize that “we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Galatians 3:23) by how people tend to treat one another. This becomes the base reason for the need to be restored. Our sinful choices continue to corrode our lives until our thinking is completely out of character with God. It doesn’t take much to end up with a warped view of the world or others within the world. 

Jesus showed up to give us an example to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21, Phillipians 2:5). But His life was more than just a good example to follow; what He did on the cross gave us a way into new life—just like those who got on the Ark had a new future because they got on a boat that could rise above the washing away of the old (Genesis 6- 9). Therefore, Jesus is the source of a new beginning, like the Ark was the vessel that allowed Noah to have a new beginning. 

This new life is best seen in how we live, what we say, how we think. Ephesians 2:12-13, “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” 

As new citizens of God’s kingdom, we no longer hold to our old ways. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Like the old car, we may still have the original bones deep inside, but everything about how we look, smell, run is completely new. 

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”