New
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If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! -2Corinthians 5:17
I am writing this blog on the first full day of spring and the sun is out and it’s a balmy 49 degrees outside. It feels like a fresh start. I know not all spring days will be this crisp and bright, but isn’t it wonderful to have this pivot point in which to take hope for the future?
Paul is reminding the Corinthians that every moment is a fresh pivot point in Christ. When we offer ourselves to God and practice letting go, we are inviting a fresh, new start every moment! But he’s also realistic and reminding them that what came before must pass away before the new thing can take hold.
For example, we love spring and can’t wait for the crocuses, but in the process of welcoming the new season, we are letting go of winter. Maybe you say, ‘Winter? Good riddance!’ But if you love to ski or have a soft spot for the beauty of the snow on branches after a storm, there are things that are dying away even as we welcome the forsythia that will soon be in bloom.
Some changes are easier for us to welcome than others. It’s easy to say goodbye to the things you never liked in order to welcome something you do. But what about those times when it’s the other way around? How graceful are you when you need to let go of something you love to welcome something you’re not sure you like at all?
That’s when being made new in Christ comes in. Because no matter what is going on in our little corner of the world, if we put ourselves into God’s much wider context, we can trust that in whatever change comes our way, all shall be well, as Julian of Norwich was so famous for saying:
All shall be well
And all shall be well
And all manner of things shall be well.
Imagine being able to give thanks in all times and in all places and to welcome the world and others as they are, not as we would have them be. Imaging being gracefully ready for God’s ever-new thing. Change can be a challenge, and sometimes hard work, and that’s why the practice of letting go is a spiritual discipline. With practice, though, we can become ambassadors for Christ, shining our gratitude and God’s peace out into this ever changing world. We can be physical reminders that hope is alive.
