Out with the old; in with the new!
Bible Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Let’s illustrate today’s message with a story.
There was a man who was wretched and dressed in tattered clothes. For a long time, he has been looking for greener pastures and comfort.
While on his journey, he came to a village with had no head, that is, a king. Before his arrival, the oracle had said that a man will come in tattered clothes, and he was to be made king.
As soon as the man entered the village, while he was still trying to beg for food and clothes, he was praised and brought into the palace. He was astonished, and after all the celebration he was told that he was the king they had been waiting for and was crowned the king.
Riches, wealth, and authority over the land were in his possession, but he was given a rule to obey if he wanted to remain king over the village forever.
What was the rule? Everything in the kingdom is his, but he must not enter into a special room which was in the palace. He agreed to this rule and kept it close to his heart.
However, after years had passed, one fateful day, he thought to himself, “I have power over this land, what can be in that room I was told not to enter?”
So, he proposed in his heart to enter the room. As he entered, he met himself where he started his journey from the beginning. He saw the wilderness he had been wandering before he was brought into the limelight. He saw his old tattered clothes, and he was unable to find his way back to the palace.
The lesson of this wonderful story is simple: old ways are true, and going back can be very dangerous. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Any man in Him is a new creature, old things are passed away and all things have become new.
The man in the wilderness was His old life, coming into the palace was him gaining liberty, and enjoying the Father’s wealth. But the sin of disobedience made him lose his place and got back into his old fallen nature.
As believers, going back to our old ways through the sin of disobedience may cost us eternal life.
Never go back, instead, focus on Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith.
