New Things part 4
This is, to me, the whole point of Jesus making all things new: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptims into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). There's a lot to get into before you hit the punchline, but I love that punchline. Christ was raised from the dead (and us in Him) so that we SHOULD walk in newness of life. It's not just something we CAN do, it's something we SHOULD do. I preach a lot about how just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD. But in this case, you absolutely should. Jesus said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to dstroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). The abundant life is the new life. And, by the way, the thief (in my humble opinion) is not the devil. It is YOU. You rob yourself of what you've been given by trying to get into the sheepfold any other way but the door. The door is Jesus. It's all about Him. Because it's all about love. God is love. Walking in newness of life is experiencing Jesus's life by letting HIM live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. Nobody can live Jesus's life except Jesus. So instead of trying to be someone we're not (in order to get something we think we haven't got), we need to learn to identify ourselves properly. Not as someone who is trying to be like Christ... but as someone who lives in Christ! We live in Him because He lives in us. Christ in you the hope of glory. That's the newness. The trueness! That's what God revealed to us when He gave us His only begotten Son. In the beginning we were created in God's image. And then on the cross we were conformed to the image of God's Son. Our new life is HIS life. But, again, it is Jesus living His own life in us, and through us, and as us. We died when He died, and we rose again when He rose again. To newness of life. And here's the key: In order to walk in newness of life... you have to walk. God made the Way of Grace. We respond with the Walk of Faith. Everything we do is a response is what God has done. We love because He first loved us. He filled us up, and now we can fill ourselves up to overflowing with what He has filled us with. We can let what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. The old has passed away and we don't need to drag it around anymore. Or let it drag us down anymore. We can lay it aside and we can walk. Walk by faith and not by sight. We can have all of these new things (that have already been given to us) by letting go of the old things and walking away from them. You don't have to fight. You can just walk away. Leave the past where it belongs--in the past. Learn from it and move on. Newness of life means you don't have to keep doing the same things in the same way. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right? If you want something different, do something different. Unless you're building something. In which case... keep up the good work. Rome wasn't built in a day. Good things take time. Even baby steps are forward steps. The key is to keep moving forward. To experience newness of life by walking in it. Walking in your new nature. Answering to your new (true) name. Being who you are by learning who you are. Loving people by learning how you are loved (by God). Letting God love you and loving Him back by loving the people you come into contact with. All things are become new. Life. Your whole life. Every aspect of it. So you should walk in the newness of HIS life!