Keeping new, staying fresh! Michael Tan
— New is not new “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The Christian faith is premised on newness. It begins with becoming a new creation when we accept Jesus into our lives (2 Corinthians 5:17), and continues with the renewing of our minds and hearts to become more like God, in order to live lives worthy of His calling. And while God is immutable and unchanging, His works are perfect and His ways are new. Such is the projection of true Life—each moment is lived as new in the Lord even if the routine seems familiar. Enjoying an infinite God will require more than an eternity of new moments with Him!
God always works with us from the inside out: the newness begins with a regenerating heart, followed by the eyes, mouth, hands, and feet that do the bidding that comes from the heart, the spring of life that Proverbs 4:23 speaks of. God, however, harnesses all that happens in life to refine us, personally and corporately as a body of believers. It is important for us then not to be caught in either extreme: only minding our hearts (rare but possible) while being oblivious or indifferent to the circumstances that God permits; or being almost entirely driven by circumstances with scant opportunity for the heart to sense what God intends for the time (a more likely human gravitation). SJSM is at such a juncture in her journey with God. On the cusp of 50
