Connecting Life with Faith: A New Creation

Spring in Fukuoka, Japan

It is spring and this is a time of new life.  The world all around us is teeming with flowers and buds soon to be fruit and blessing.  This is a natural cycle that we experience with every year and it serves as a reminder of newness and the joy of new life.

I reflect on the passage in 2 Corinthians 5.  "Therefore if anyone be in Christ, the new creation has come..."  First of all the phrase therefore should cause us to look for a reason for this statement.  Paul is speaking about our thinking, our outlook on the world.  As we abide in Christ, basically staying connected with Him as a branch or vine does with a tree, the new creation, the new life, the new way of thinking from Christ will come into our life.  There will be a newness, a joy much like springtime when we abide in Christ and reconcile our minds to Him who bore ALL of our sin.

We must look forward to the work God wants to do in our life today and not at the failures of the past.  We mustn't be dragged down by the wintry trials we have faced or the sinful ways of the past, but should embrace the new life God has for us; a life that doesn't end here on earth but  extends into eternity.

With a new outlook we can begin the work of reconciliation. Without renewing our own mind in this way how can we hope to share the Gospel with the dying world?  If we are made new again by His power, we can testify and share His resurrection and His kingdom with the world.

So open your heart and mind to Him today. Let the Holy Spirit reconcile your thoughts to the Word of God, to the mind of Christ Jesus, and experience the overflow of life and joy of the GOSPEL.  He is RISEN and He LIVES even after Easter let us celebrate the NEW LIFE in Christ!