Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
The Contention:
We are in the season of the new. A new year has just started, and for many of us, we are looking forward to new challenges, new inspirations and new heights. Yesterday's verse spoke about God's pronouncement, that as the Lord of all, whose authority cannot be questioned, He is making all things new. Today's verse goes ahead to lay out the context behind the new that God is seeking to do, and this has to do with the son of God Himself, the One who made the promise. God is faithful to His Word, and He will always keep His word, because it is His nature to be consistent and constant, but He does not force His will on anyone. We come to Him of our own freewill and surrender our lives to Him; only then can the promise in today's verse will come true. Am I truly in Christ? Are you?
The Inspiration:
The word IF tells me that it is a choice; I choose to come to God of my own freewill. Location will always define allocation; where I stand defines what I get. I must also ensure that I know where and in who I stand. My standing must be in Christ and Him alone, not in anyone or anything else. I also can't combine Him with anyone or anything else. He does not encounter a life and leave it the same way He met it; he changes that life from within, and the evidence cannot be denied. No life comes in contact with Him and remains the same. I must not be content with mere membership of a church, or being familiar with the tokens of Christianity, but I must make sure that I am IN Christ. If Jesus is not Lord of all I am and have, I do not have the right to make any claim on Jesus.
The Conclusion:
Whatever belongs to the old man cannot remain in place when the new comes in. I cannot also hold on to the old, whilst striving to align with the new. The old has to go completely, because the old cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The old has no place in the affairs of God's kingdom. The old man cannot be born again, and must give way to the new. The old must die, in line with the word of God, and the new life, which is born of God, must become my new life. God won't leave any part of me untouched but will keep working on me until men can see His reflection in me. This is the whole essence of the new work that God wants to do: that I become His image and ambassador. Does this describe me at the moment? Can men see God in me? God's time of favour is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment