2 Corinthians 5:17 English Standard Version (ESV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[creature] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
What does it mean to be a new creation or creature if I look the same, feel the same, have the same aliments, have the same memories and at times even act the way I always have?
If we were to move to a foreign land with different languages, customs, leadership, and opportunities, don’t you think it would take some time to feel like you were a citizen of that country?
Entering into the Kingdom of God and living under the rule of the King of Kings is exactly like that. We have become a member of the family of God without actually moving, at least not yet.
Some of us undergo an instant change so drastic that the ones closest to us might think we have gone crazy. I did because the change came after I had three children and the oldest thought that the men with the straight jackets might show up at any moment.
It ook a year before my wife and daughters accepted my change and accepted Christ themselves. It took my son longer, he was the oldest.
People at work saw me change and most of them saw it as a good thing. There will always be skeptics waiting for us to fail. When it doesn’t happen they will stop watching our every move.
Those who knew me best from childhood are all passed on sadly. The others did not pay enough attention to form an opinion. They assume I’ve always been this way.
We get to know a whole new family when we place our faith in Christ. Some are new born, others wise beyond their years, some still hanging on to their “churchy” ways but brothers and sisters in Christ, every one of them.
It is difficult enough to get used to our new surroundings but the really hard part is having to live in a physical world that is different from our spiritual kingdom. In the world but not of the world. The forces of that world are strong influencers but we must not give into them if we are going to serve our King. We are called into service with different gifts and callings, trying our best to fit into the mix.
It is a great mystery how some of us find our way around so easily while others struggle to find their new identity. It is hard to give up what we were sometimes.
1 Corinthians 15:10 English Standard Version (ESV) But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.