“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)
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…”
(Galatians 2:20 ESV)
The caterpillar crawled slowly through the dirt seemingly getting nowhere. He used every ounce of his energy to move forward making very little progress. Day after day, he crawled about through the dirt and debris, struggling to overcome the many obstacles in his path, only to have traveled a few feet in the end.
As time passed, the caterpillar found himself trapped in a cocoon barely able to move. He struggled to free himself but to no avail. Life to him seemed to be an unrelenting, perpetual struggle to escape from his bondage. Desperately wanting to break free, he continued to struggle with of all the strength he could muster and finally broke free from his entombment.
As he emerged from the torn cocoon, he realized that he had experienced a change – a transformation from what he once had been to what he had now become. The caterpillar, once struggling through the dirt, crawling to get nowhere, had now become a beautiful butterfly soaring about high in the sky so very far from where he was before!
Life was quite different for him now. As a butterfly, he no longer struggled to move about. He no longer crawled through dirt and debris. He was a new creation – a beautiful creature that had been transformed with a new life and a new purpose!
Much like the caterpillar, we often struggle to crawl over the obstacles we have created by our life choices. Although we try with all of our energy, we seem to be getting nowhere and often find it very difficult to see a purpose in our lives. Fortunately, like the caterpillar, we too can emerge from our cocoon and be transformed into a new creation with a new life and a new purpose!
When we give our lives to Christ, we are transformed and created anew in Him. We become a new creation! Our old ways pass away and give way to our new purpose (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). We die to our old self and are reborn filled with the Spirit of Christ (see Galatians 2:20). We are given a new life in Christ – a new life that transforms us into a new creation with the newfound ability to soar high above the obstacles we had previously created! - a new life with a new purpose far different than we had previously lived!
When we finally realize that we are tired of crawling aimlessly through the obstacles of life; tired of struggling to break free from our bondage, we can open our hearts to receive Jesus Christ and to allow His Holy Spirit to fill us and change us. When we allow ourselves to be completely filled with His Spirit, He will forever transform us and set us free!
There is new life in Christ! The old will pass away and the new will come! (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Fly high and free for you are a new creation!
Lord Jesus, we pray to be born again and to be filled with Your Holy Spirit. Fill our hearts with Your life and Your love and transform us into a new creation! Set us free with a new life and a new purpose! In Your Holy Name we pray, Amen. †
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