I spent a lot of time meditating on verse 17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" Because I feel like I'm wandering in a spiritual desert and have been for several years, I wondered how much change we are supposed to expect in our lives. Early on in my spiritual journey, I had greater hope in a person's ability to change. However, over time I find myself and others still dealing with the same struggles and stuck with similar flaws. Given that my behavior has not changed to be radically healthy and holy in the years I've been a Christian, how am I to understand verse 17? I believe the answer is found in verse 21. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." The major change is not to our behavior, but to how God chooses to see us. Since we are "in Christ" God chooses to define us not by our actions, but by Christ's actions on our behalf. Believing this, I find the encouragement to trust that the Holy Spirit will coach me and counsel me to make progress for today.
