New Beginnings

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”—2 Corinthians 5:17

Early in my Christian journey, I met a family who, after returning from a mission trip, promptly sold the family farm and enrolled in Bible College. Following graduation, they moved to Africa to give their lives in missionary service. I have always been impressed by individuals who give up everything in order to follow Jesus’ radical call to discipleship. In the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a merchant who found a pearl of great value and “went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:46). In another place, Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

Over the past six years in Johnstown, I have observed the courage, tenacity, and faith of many persons who made completely new beginnings. One man left a career in purchasing to return to school and enter the medical field. Last week, I attended a farewell dinner for a gentleman who left the accounting field, returned to school to get a second bachelor degree in worship leading, and entered into fulltime Christian ministry. I know a single mother who left the medical field, returned to school, and began her own business. People are still stepping out in faith and trusting God to do a new work in and through their lives.

These amazing real life stories remind me of the miraculous new beginnings that God desires to work in all of us. God calls persons to allow the Holy Spirit to make a new creation of our lives. We have all failed. Each of us has a past: sins, mistakes, and even a label. As we call upon the Lord Jesus to forgive our sins, we walk into a new life. “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). A new creation isn’t merely a remake of the old person, but something completely new, something never known before. God is still in the creating business.

If we can dream a new future under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish it; or rather, God can accomplish it in and through us. The scriptures tell us that God is at work in us both to will and to do God’s good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). God is still giving fresh dreams and working new plans. We need to cry out the Lord, see God’s new future for us, and walk obediently with faith in the footsteps God sets before us, even if those around us don’t believe in us or give us another chance. God knows His good plans for us for a hope and a future.

In a depressed economy, it is easy to lose hope. When a strained relationship continues to sour, it is easy to quit praying and trying. But most of all, when we have had doors repeatedly closed on our faces or we have been sick for years, our spirits begin to sag. In those times, it is hard to hear the voice of God say, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). I urge you, lift up your heads. Open your eyes. God’s still creating. God is giving fresh dreams. God has a new beginning just for you. See it, receive it, claim it, and live it.