New Creation, Same Old Habits
Reflections as I begin a new year
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)
New life in Christ. New Creation. I have heard these affirmations so many times, but what does it really mean? I am a Christian. I have been reconciled to God, and my sins are no longer counted against me. Praise God!!
But what is this new life? What is new about my life on this earth if no outward change is visible?
Is a drug addict who has accepted Christ as savior but is not actively trying to overcome addiction really a new person? If a depressed person isn’t seeking help, has she really been made new? What about an abusive person; a selfish person; a gossip? If I don’t see the change, have they really been made new?
Shouldn’t the ‘new life’ manifest itself in outward behaviors that others can see? How do we show the world what Christ has done for us if nothing really changes? Yes, I am forgiven of all sin — past, present, and future — but have I stopped sinning? Can others see the change in me? Can I see the change in others?
Does God look at me with love and approval, or with disappointment because I still look and act like the same old sinner on the outside?
