Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old is gone, the new is here! – 2 Corinthians 5:17
God has given us a wonderful gift; all we need to do is accept it. Think about the last time you gave someone a gift. Did that person receive the gift with joy? If so, how did that make you feel? I know when I give someone a gift and they receive it with joy, it makes me feel happy. It fills me with joy as well.
Now think about how you would feel if you gave someone a gift and they did not receive it with joy, but instead they ignored it. I know I would feel sad and unappreciated.
God is the same way. When He gave us the gift of His son, Jesus, and when He forgives our sins, He wants us to receive it with joy. When we do, it glories Him and brings Him joy. But when He forgives our sins and we still hold on to the pain, guilt, and shame, we do not glorify God. God gave us His son, Jesus, who shed His blood for us. He shed His blood to wash away our sins. When we do not accept this gift, we are basically saying we do not believe in what Jesus did for us on the cross.
When we confess our sins and come to the Lord, He forgives our sins and we are made new. All the things of the past are gone. God forgives us and wants us to move on with our lives, living our new life for Him. For us to live a full life, we must let the old things pass away and become the new creation that God intends us to be. Then we can live freely in who we truly are in Christ Jesus.
Lee Ann Simpson, St. Luke’s Asbury Administrative Assistant
