NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST

NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST                  New Year's Eve is always a bittersweet time. "Out with the old; in with the new!" Yet even the hard times that we experienced over the last year often had something about them that we wish to remember. That's one reason why it seems so appropriate to mark the New Year by celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Saint Luke tells us that, after being visited by the shepherds after the birth of Christ, "Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart." Yet only a few verses later, Simeon tells Mary, "thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." The mystery of our salvation encompasses both joy and sorrow, and no one exemplifies that truth more than the Mother of God herself. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18–19) God’s Word is wonderful, telling us continually that he is in the renewal business. It is exciting being a Christian because we anticipate that God will always do something new and exciting in our life. Our responsibility is to place ourselves in a position so God can work through us. How do we do this? First, we need to stop dwelling on the past. When we dwell on the past, it is like trying to drive a car always looking in the rear view mirror. There is nothing we can do about our past except to put aside the parts that pull us down, and to learn not to make the same mistakes in the future. God is always moving. He is in the creation business. He is in the renewal business. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV) We are new creatures in Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) If we walk in faith, he will provide “the way in the wilderness” and streams in the spiritual desert of this world. If we are sensitive to his leading we will recognize that he is in the process of doing a new thing in us and through us. When this happens, it exciting to know we are in the centre of God’s will. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” (Philippians 3:12–13, NIV)

May the coming year be one of increased riches of grace—hearing His voice more clearly, knowing His heart more deeply, resting in His love more fully, trusting His care more completely, walking His pathway more peacefully, knowing His presence more intimately, blessed by His goodness more abundantly.

And in all things, may you know the shalom peace of God—encouraging you to move forward, empowering you to boldly take each step, greeting you as you turn a new corner, calming your heartbeat as you walk through dark valleys, softening each footstep as you climb rugged mountains, and increasing your courage as you follow your Shepherd wherever He leads.

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom     with joy.

Psalm 65:11-12