New Life

Several years ago, my sister said something to me that completely changed our relationship. I can’t remember if it was on the phone or on skype or over email, but I remember being in my apartment in China being completely overwhelmed with God’s grace and power.

My sister had recently begun moving back towards God, very much like I had years before. We had both decided to follow Christ at a young age, and had periods of obedience and great relationship with Him. However, we also had times of blatant disobedience. There were areas of life that we had not surrendered to Christ. We were not living lives true to who we were – children of the Lord.

So what did she say that changed our relationship? She shared with me that as she had been reading in 2 Corinthians, one verse jumped out at her. That verse was 2 Corinthians 5.17:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

The power of Christ in our lives means that we are a new creation. We have new life. We are no longer held captive by our flesh. We live in freedom from sin because of Christ’s death and resurrection.

This verse changed our relationship because from then on, we truly began to relate and interact not just as sisters, but also as sisters in Christ. I am so thankful for Christ’s work in our lives, and for the opportunity to celebrate His victory over death.

This weekend at Grace Church, we are celebrating victory in the lives of 44 people. That is 44 brothers and sisters in Christ, each of whom have powerful stories of redemption. You can hear their stories on our Pastor’s Blog, be encouraged by their stories, and celebrate with them.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” - 1 Peter 1.3-4