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New Creation

             Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (II Corinthians 5:17)

            We’ve made it one day into the new year. I’ve started my new “I shall come forth as gold” journal. And according to today’s passage, we are new creations. Woo Hoo New! Except we are like Eustace Scrubb in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, trapped in the body of a dragon, and having to peal away layer after layer to free that new self. It can be a difficult and painful process, one that seems to us to take far too long.

Part of the problem is that our focus quickly shifts from being new creations and releasing that new self to pain and disappointment because the change isn’t fast, painless, and complete and it is often unnoticed by the people around us. Worse yet, if they do notice, they might not be as encouraging and supportive as we’d like. The old self seems so strong, and if we’ve had success then lost ground, the self seems even stronger and victory seems twice as far away.

One of the things I keep telling people in the homesteading group is to do what you can where you are with what you have. Given the fact that Christians have the Holy Spirit, we should approach life with assurance. But sometimes, we must take smaller steps. Sometimes, the step we can take isn’t what the experts tell us we should do. As an example, one of my goals is to get healthier and stronger so that I am better able to do all I want to do. Some would begin with requiring that I give up carbohydrates – sugar, pasta, bread, muffins, spaghetti sauce, honey, jam, and jelly…

I just can’t. And some would suggest that I’m being rebellious. But on the way to work this morning, I bought some almonds to grind and put in oatmeal, so at least I’m eating a better carb and almonds instead of peanut butter. And some might complain that by desire to eat healthier isn’t a spiritual goal, but if I am trying to learn to eat in a way that is in line with what God created my body to use, it’s still a step of obedience.

Switching from me to you – what challenges seem too big for you? Is there a smaller challenge that is a step toward it? How will you live as a new creation this year?

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