Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor. 5:17)
Every few years the deck where I live needs a fresh coat of paint. The constant beating of the sun, rain, and snow results in old paint that chips and peels. This damage threatens the health of the deck because it exposes the wood beneath the paint to the elements. A fresh coat of paint addresses the problem temporarily, but it is not permanent nor does a fresh coat of paint make a whole new deck. The old deck is always beneath the surface of the new paint.
Everything changes in the lives of people who decide to follow Christ. Those who are in Christ are not given a fresh coat of paint over their old selves; they are made new from the inside out. This means that the change is permanent if we stay in Christ. The new creation is not a temporary fix to an enduring problem but a process by which total restoration occurs.
While God incorporates us into the new creation through Christ, we are responsible to live the new creation out in the world. God invites us to live out the new creation through holy living. Do not sell short the work God has done in you by thinking you have only gotten a new coat of paint. You are a whole new person and are no longer bound by sin.
Let the new creation shine in your life through holy living.
Scott Donahue-Martens lives outside of Boston. He is on staff at Awaken City Wesleyan Church and is completing a PhD in practical theology.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
