Reminders: A Whole New Life Awaits the Believer

Billy had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. “Good!” said the pleased mother. “If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” “Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me not misbehave,” said Billy. “I asked Him to help you put up with me when I do.”

How we pray sometimes depends on how we would like to live. The little boy in the story above was just being realistic. He knew that he was likely to misbehave again, and asked God to help his mother “put up with him”. It is not unlike how many adults pray. We ask God to overlook our misdeeds by claiming that we are, “only human”. We imply that we are bound to respond to temptations in typical human fashion. While that might be realistic, it is not the way a Christian is to respond to our own failures. We need to recognize our propensity to sin. We also need to recognize God’s power to help us change. 

If we are sincere in our desire to change, we must trust God to give us the attitudes and resources to do so. The Bible tells us in Philippians 2:4 that even the most grievous of sinners can be cleansed by the blood of Christ, but it requires a sincere commitment to become a new person in Christ. “And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11  

To be “justified” does not mean that what we did while we were sinning was justified, but that what Christ has done by dying on the cross has exonerated those who dedicate their lives to Jesus and live according to His teachings. “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation.  The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. When we trust God, He will not only wipe away our sins, but will also give us a whole new life serving Him.