The New Has Come! Keep Coming!

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come..” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.”

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation…

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…

“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

“Beloved, I urge you… to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul….

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” 1 Peter 1:23; 2:1-2,4-5,9-11,24

Born again of imperishable seed. The old given way to new. The Christian’s call upon salvation is to come fully in to the new life of righteousness, to embody Christ and effectuate His possession of us in ways that proclaim His excellencies. It is no stagnant existence to which we are born, but a continual coming and growing, putting away and putting on. (Colossians 3:5-8,12-14)

In the bustle of a daily grind or the casualness of seasonal malaise, we can forget the new life altogether. Subconsciously, a spiritual transaction has taken place, but practically, we are not energized by it or even aware of the power of our life in Christ. Complacency overcomes initial zeal, and taking-for-granted swallows gratitude and vibrancy.

Yet, the living and abiding word of God is active, not passive. The Spirit kneads truth into our souls to stimulate holy desire and spur us to grow, love, and do good. He chafes our consciences, identifies all that does not please Him, and gives strength to put it away. Every day He offers new morning mercies: we can renounce and redress, invigorated by the realities of imperishable hope and our identity as God’s own. (Lamentations 3:22-23; Hebrews 10:22-25)

Have we come to Jesus? Do we know Him as Savior, and that we have been adopted and made new by Him? Where and how have we experienced His benevolent mercy applied? What old habits, inclinations, language, unhealthy relationships, or bitterness has He made pass away, and how is He making all things new?

For what will we determine to regularly come? When are we partaking of pure spiritual milk by way of drinking in God’s word, developing spiritual disciplines, partaking in rich fellowship with giving and taking? How do our growth markers measure by way of specific and significant differences in passions, proclivities, daily priorities, focus, loves? Continual coming will yield continual growing.

Father, keep me coming to You for renewal, so I’ll consistently put off my old and put on the new, and so reflect Your image and excellencies. (Colossians 3:9-10)