Made New

Yesterday the weather was perfect for gardening! I have been going a little stir crazy with this cold weather. I knew as soon as it warmed up outside that I wanted to stop by Lowe's and purchase some annuals for my front yard. Unfortunately, I wait until after the hail storm to plant them.

Before planting the new flowers I purchased, I had to spend a good amount of time cutting way the old. The most recent frost killed all the leaves on my plants which left me with a pile of sticks in my flowerbed. It was a hot mess!

There I was, with hedging shears in hand, looking a little like Edward Scissorhands as I swiftly cut away all the dead plants in my flowerbed. Then, I discovered something amazing. It was actually quite wonderful. Unexpected and yet beautiful all at the same time.

Beneath all this rubble was greenery. The plants that I feared would never return because of the frost were coming back in full bloom. I immediately began to relate this newly discovered creation in my garden with my personal life.

Sometimes, okay most of the time, I get so frustrated with myself. I can think such negative thoughts. I am not always kind toward others. I have a hard time doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with Jesus Christ as Micah 6:8 commands from us. When I witnessed that greenery forcing its way through the dirt, pushing up from underneath all the rubble, I began to realize I don't need to have my life all together because that's what Jesus Christ did for me when He went to the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" I have been a new creation in Christ since I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior at the age of 19.

He knows I still wrestle with this flesh. I am a work in progress. In Ephesians 4:22, Paul says, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." This righteousness and holiness was nothing I could accomplish on my own. Just like trimming away the dead remnants in my flowerbed. Someone had to bring out the shears and cut away all the dead. That's what Christ did for me when I believed in Him.

I will not be made wholly complete, perfect, until I reside with Him in Heaven. I am reminded of His goodness in Ephesians 2:10 which says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

The good works, as spoken of in Ephesians 2:10, help point others to Christ. Our words and actions should excite people when they hear of how God is working in our personal lives. Remember how excited I got when I saw new growth taking place underneath the old? I could not complete enough tasks or do enough good works to save myself. Only a Savior could save a sinner like me.

I am thankful for the goodness of God. I am forever grateful that He died on a cross to give me life after death. This world is not my home. One day, I will spend eternity in Heaven looking at the most beautiful plants our eyes have ever seen. I bet I won't need those Edward Scissorhands because His creation will be made new and without blemish. I can't wait! Will you be there with me?