A friend of mine was trying to get rid of a bag of chocolate buttons, it had been rejected a couple of times when they offered me a taste. I was told it was lemon flavoured. Being a fan of citrus, I tried it optimistically. The familiar taste of smooth milk chocolate was the obvious flavour, but as it dissolved, a bitter hint of lemon zest hit the taste buds.
Ever have those moments where you remember a cringe worthy moment in your life. Those horrid moments where if you had a Tardis, you would go back to the moment where that one word or action sent you into a whirlwind of deep regret. And whether it was last year or yesterday you dread a moment where you add another to that list.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Sometimes it’s possible for us to make right the mistakes we have made in the past and sometimes it’s not. God gives us this assurance; we’re made right with Him the moment we receive Christ. Everything that could separate us from God was taken care of through Jesus’ death on the cross. He bore it all that we could have a fresh start. Does that mean we are perfect from that moment on? Not at all, we can still get hints of lemon, but Christ in us is perfect and His Spirit enables us to become more like him every day.
Application:
When we or someone else is tempted to drudge up our past mistakes, declare the word of God out loud “I am a new creation in Christ. He has taken my old ways and exchanged it for His perfect ways. His complete work at the cross means I no longer identify with who I was. I identify with who He has made me to be.”