2 Corinthians 5:17
The Manhattan Indians would be in for a shock if they returned to their island home today. Remember the story? They sold their island (today’s Manhattan Island in New York City) to Peter Minuit of the Dutch West Indies Company for about $24 worth of merchandise. Today, concrete and steel have replaced grass and tree and transformed a once pastoral scene into the financial capital of the world. Imagine the faces of these native Americans as they discover the kinds of “bulls” and “bears” that rage on Wall Street today.
Or how about the pilgrim adventurers who set sail on the Mayflower from the Port of London in 1620? Were they to return there today they wouldn't believe their eyes. Once called the Isle of Dogs, the former Port of London is today known as Canary Wharf, one of the most successful urban reclamation projects in the world. The docks of London went from medieval marshland to majestic metroplex—a stunning conglomeration of office towers, restaurants, shopping sites, and commercial hubs.
While these transformations are monumental, the “before and after” affects pale in comparison to the spiritual transformation that occurs in the human being who becomes a Christian. One could imagine the Manhattan Indians, as well as long-ago Londoners, exclaiming, “It’s a new creation!” upon viewing their former homeland. Those are, of course, the very words Paul uses to describe the radical transformation that takes place in the life of a new believer—with one key difference. Manhattan and London were changed externally over centuries; believers are changed internally instantaneously. But the difference is no less real! The old is gone and the new has come.
Did you realize that the landscape of your life was scraped clean and an entirely new “you” was erected when you became a Christian? The danger is in thinking because the outside is the same that the inside is, too. But remember: if you are in Christ, the old is gone and the new has come. The person who is believing in Christ today is not the same person who first believed in Christ yesterday. It’s a new you!
God’s Promise to You: “When I see you in Christ, I see a new creation.”
