God's Glory Church

“Look what love the Father has given us.” — 1 John 3:1

“I’m not who I used to be. I’m a new person.” These simple words my son spoke at a school assembly reflected the change God had made in his life. Jeffrey used to be a drug addict and had an addiction to heroin. So, he perceived himself through the prism of his sins and mistakes. And now he is God’s child.

The Holy Scriptures contain a beautiful promise: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, but the new has become” (2 Cor. 5:17). Regardless of who we were or what we did in the past, we become new people when we trust Jesus Christ for salvation and receive forgiveness through His death on the cross. Since the time of the Garden of Eden, the guilt of sin separated us from God, but now He “reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, not considering their sins” (v. 19). We are His beloved children (1 John 3:1-2), washed and recreated in the likeness of His Son.

The Lord Jesus frees people from the power of sin and restores their relationship with God, in which they are free to live not for themselves, but “for the One who died and rose again for them” (2 Cor. 5:15). As we enter the New Year, let us remember that His heart-changing love gives us a new identity and a new purpose. This will help us to point those around us to our Savior – the One who can make them new people.

What does a new beginning with God mean to you? How should the new creation live?

Abba, Father! Thank you for the Son who saved me. Please direct me to those who need You too.

Author: James Banks