Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! –2 Corinthians 5:17
A large yellow and black banner hangs in the gym where I work out with two words that stand out in large white lettering. It says very simply, “REDEFINE YOU.” It’s a constant reminder that I’m a work in progress. It keeps me focused on my goals and helps me over the hurdles of physical and mental plateaus. It doesn’t tell me HOW to define myself, but instead it encourages me to see myself differently than I am today. The three miles I ran today is not the one-mile I ran last month, but it’s not yet the five miles I hope to run next month. I am redefining who I am and what I can accomplish.
Another poster hangs in the youth room of our church. It reads, “What you can be is more important that what you have been.” What a promise that comes straight from Scripture. Paul writes to the church in Corinth something biblical scholars call a conditional promise. English teachers refer to this as an if/then statement. Simply stated, IF anyone (that includes you) is in Christ, he/she is a new creation. The old has GONE, the new has COME! You are not the same with Christ as you were without Him. You are no longer what you were. You and He together are redefining and renewing you from the inside out, much like someone training for a race. However, as important as it is to care for our physical bodies, Scripture reminds us that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” –1 Timothy 4:8.
Redefine You. You’re not who you were yesterday or the day before, or the day before that. Today brings new possibilities, a fresh start and new opportunities to define your life. Receive it as a gift from God.
GOING DEEPER:
There really is nothing greater than the grace of God that gives us a new lease on life. When we look to God and seek His forgiveness, we receive the promise of Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 103:8-18, Acts 9:1-31