New life emerges .... slowly

 

The Message – “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he spoke to them of becoming a new creation. That when we encounter Jesus, the old is gone and the new has come. However, sometimes I wonder why it takes so long for the this 'new' creation to appear in my life and then I begin to wonder if I there is something wrong with me. I am not sure if you can relate to this at all?

For this reason, I love Eugene Peterson's take on 2 Corinthians 5, where he speaks of how the new life in Christ 'emerges'. And this is when I think of how a butterfly emerges from the Cocoon, slowly. This takes time (anyway from 5 to 21 days apparently). 

So, when we allow the Spirit to transform our hearts and lives, let us realise that this takes time - we emerge from our old life, into the new creation of Jesus.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Having a purpose

Philippians 2:13 - for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

The Austrian psychiatrist, Victor Frankl, has written on the relation of the meaning of life as related to the whole structure of our personality. 

It is his thinking "that the need to find meaning in our life is more basic to a human being than pleasure and power or anything else." The thing he keeps repeating is that if a person has a "why" to live, they can endure any "how." However, if "why" is lacking, then the persons whole life eventually collapses.

2 Corinthians 5:5 - Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

What do you think of this?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

A new life emerges

"Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (Message)

...a new life emerges!

This is the phrase that encapsulates the Resurrection for all of us. Thanks to the work of Christ, who emerges from the borrow tomb, each of us can experience this gift of new life. As we emerge from the darkness of sin, so we allow the Light to help us adjust our eyes to our new world-view. Following Jesus changes us - slowly, but steadily. The old life disappears, as we embrace the new.

May you know the love of God today.

Living in Grace

D3LM3