Optimist Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” II Corinthians 5:17

The apostle Paul wrote these words, but he didn’t just write about the spiritual truth; he lived it every day of his life in ministry. Paul became a new person in Christ after his transformation from being a persecutor to a great evangelist!

As we start a new year, these words remind us about how our trust and faith in Christ can make us a new person. This is the time of year when a lot of people want to change something about themselves, whether it be physically, mentally, or spiritually.

You see, God already knows everything about us. He knows what we’ve done, or where we’ve been, and He knows every single thought we’ve had, but most of all He knows our hearts.

God wants to forgive us for every sin and failure and wants to clothe us with the righteous robe of Christ and give us the power to live a new, abundant life that He has planned for us.

Paul was made a new creation, and so can we have that same thing happen to us. Just remember that Paul said he didn’t look back, but forgot what was behind him, and went forward to serve Christ as he was called to do.

We all probably at one time or another have made resolutions to change something in our lives. Maybe we should reflect on what is keeping us from becoming that new creation in Christ! Our focus needs to be on how we can trust God to help us be who He wants us to be. If we haven’t learned anything else in these past couple years, we have learned that we have to trust in God because He never leaves us or forsakes us.

I’ve always loved that saying, “Be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet”. We are all a work in progress, and this year will be no different than last year, because our journey of faith is a lifelong process.