"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" ~2 Corinthians 5:17
I for one am really grateful that no messy life gets, I can always start over. I think this is a freedom that God gives us that we too often take for granted.
The recovery movement has some great sayings like, "one day at a time," and "today is the first day of the rest of your life." The point of these platitudes is that, whatever mistakes you've made, you can always star over from right here right now and start over.
We often use New Year's for resolutions, hoping we'll get "get back on track," or "turn over a new leaf." And, imperfect human beings that we are, many's a year that we've broken our resolutions before January is over.
Many Christians try to use the Easter season the same way. We don't see Lent so much as an opportunity to try to empathize with Jesus' suffering or to recognize that it was our sin that sent Him to the cross- instead we try to use it as a motivator for our own self-improvement, to lose weight or to try to kick some habit.
God does want us to turn from our sin and follow Him. And there's sure nothing wrong with self improvement (so long as we keep in mind that no amount of improvement will add or take away any of His unconditional love for us or get us closer to Heaven- He took care of that on the cross).
Still, when things obviously aren't going the way they should, we wish we could start over. Well, thank God, we can. Every moment of every day. But if it's still too hard to wrap our minds around starting over from right here, right now- there are always tons of mile markers or touch stones that we can use as launching pads and starting points.
Elections provide new starting points. New quarters and new semesters in school do too. So can new sports seasons. Completing a project. New months, new check books. Going from Summer to Fall or Fall to Winter. Daylight Saving's Time.
Anytime is the perfect time to start again, start over, or start something completely new. Every morning is a new start.
Feel like you've messed up with a relationship? Said or done something you wish you hadn't? Been dropping-the-ball on something that you think needs more attention? Want to make a fresh start of it? There's no time like the present.
I can't tell you how often I thank God for the fact that He doesn't hold my past against me, but lets me start from right here at trying to be who He intended me to be, to be a new creation.
The future starts now- thank God!
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