by Laurie Ness
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b-14
I need a new beginning! I've needed a new beginning countless times in my life. No, I'm not a drug addict or a prostitute or an adulterer. I'm not an alcoholic or a gambler or a murderer. Those are the kinds of vices that we think of as needing some rehab, right?
But we all need a new beginning from time to time. No sin we hang on to is better than another. To deny that is detrimental in many ways. Now, to those who are new creations in Christ, the most important "new beginning" doesn't need to begin again. We are secure in our position in God's family, through faith in Christ Jesus. We do fall from time to time, though, and compromise our fellowship with Him.
My sin finds me out. As a child, I was outwardly disciplined for my disobedience, as a child should be, but my heart was hard and I only cared about myself. In adulthood, as I've opened my heart up to my Lord, my bad choices have eventually resulted in a moment of truth, where I have to face the music. I'm not referring only to the natural consequences, but to a heart-wrenching realization of what my actions or attitudes have cost me, possibly others, and definitely my Savior. It's a grief that's hard to face, probably the reason I sometimes run from it until I'm just too weary to avoid it.
That's the cold, dark winter.
Something amazing happens, though: Spring arrives! I turn around in my sorrow and shame to face the Lord and confess, expecting to see what I deserve--and what I deserve terrifies me. But I've forgotten that all there is to see there is Jesus, the Light of the world. He doesn't condemn me. He's redeemed me!
Out of my love for Him, I may find myself grieving for awhile because of my part in putting Him on that cross. In my humanness, I may also lament over the price I or others have paid because of my sin. But the sorrow subsides because the reality is that I am free! Like that first spring day warm enough to drink in the sunshine with no coat. The smell is delicious. The feeling is light and carefree.
A new beginning. It sounds so fresh and inviting. It entices us to embrace it. Let's release whatever doesn't belong in our lives, leave it in the past, and begin anew.
