HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
An advantage of being the middle child in a family of five children was that I could play with the younger kids when my inner child needed attention. I could hang out with the older kids when I felt my younger siblings were beneath me.
Christmas time brought out the child in me. I loved to curl up on the couch with my younger sister and brother as we watched all the Christmas cartoons. One of our favourites was “Frosty the Snowman.” I liked Jimmy Durante’s voice; my younger sister liked the story, and my younger brother liked the annual tradition. I always laughed at Frosty’s childlike wonder whenever he was awakened back to life by placing a magical hat upon his head. “Happy Birthday!” he would exclaim.Being the middle child in a family of five had its advantages. Whenever I needed to connect with my inner child, I could play with my younger siblings. At the same time, I could spend time with my older siblings when I felt like my younger siblings were too immature for me.
Christmas time truly brought out the child in me. I loved curling up on the couch with my younger sister and brother as we watched all the Christmas cartoons. One of our favourites was “Frosty the Snowman.” I enjoyed Jimmy Durante’s voice; my younger sister loved the story, and my younger brother appreciated our traditions. I always laughed at Frosty’s childlike wonder when he was brought back to life by having a magical hat placed on his head. “Happy Birthday!” he would exclaim.
Everything felt new, exciting, and full of delightful possibilities. Regardless of Frosty’s past—whether it was good, bad, or indifferent—it was forgotten in those first joyful moments of truly being alive. He had become a new being, free to enjoy his life until an inconvenient villain or a strong gust of wind whisked the hat away once again.
As Christians, we need not fear losing our new life just because a precariously placed hat falls off. Isaiah 61:10 assures us, “He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…” His newness is sealed in our hearts and cannot be removed by outward circumstances. He extends His offer of a fresh start to anyone who asks.
We need not wait for momentous occasions such as birthdays or New Year’s Day to start anew. Jesus promises us in Revelation 21:5 – “Behold, I am making all things new.” Present, active tense. God is making all things new!
Personal Application
2 Corinthians 5:17 – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
We are a new creation; the old creation was crucified on the cross, and it is dead and buried. Don’t fall for the enemy’s lie that slipping back into an old habit means the old creation has somehow come back to life. Your old self is not a zombie from a horror film. As Doctor McCoy from Star Trek often said, “He’s dead, Jim.” Do not indulge the idea of living outside your new identity.
Although the following quote by Corrie Ten Boom is about forgiving others, it also applies to our ability to move on from our past through God’s forgiveness. Keep living in your new identity and ignore the occasional reminders of the old self. The old self is dead; long live the new creation.
“If you have ever seen a country church with a bell in the steeple, you will remember that to get the bell ringing, you have to tug awhile. Once it has begun to ring, you merely maintain the momentum. As long as you keep pulling, the bell keeps ringing. Forgiveness is letting go of the rope. It is just that simple. But when you do so, the bell keeps ringing. Momentum is still at work. However, if you keep your hands off the rope, the bell will begin to slow and eventually stop.” – Corrie Ten Boom
At this very moment, as you read these words, all things are being made new. How you choose to steward this moment is up to you. Never take this precious gift of newness for granted. Cherish the potential of ‘all things new’ through the power of Christ’s resurrection. Relationships strained, mistakes made, sins you committed – bring them to the cross. Leave them there and don’t pick them up again, no matter how tempted you might be. Treasure the gift of newness He grants you every day.
Ephesian 4:21-24 – “Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
“Happy Birthday!”
Until Next Week
2024 Katherine Walden
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