Good morning.
Old habits are tough. You know what I mean, habits that you have gotten used to doing, saying, thinking, living. Old ways that have become so ingrained within us that they seem to be inseparable from who we are.
Some of those habits may have become physically, emotionally, even spiritually addictive. That means that there are physical and psychological components that make change all the more challenging.
Not all such habits are bad, in fact some of them may be quite “Christ Like”. Those habits we gladly keep and proudly display. But then there are the other kinds. The kinds of habits that we regret, often hide, and we always wish we could be rid of them.
Is God, in all of His loving kindness and grace, okay with all of our habits, the good and the bad? No, He is not. I know that we live in a world today that shouts for tolerance in all things. We hear the cry that to refuse to accept everyone “just as they are” is to refuse to love them at all.
God loves us all no matter what condition He presently finds us in, no matter what habits are present and flourishing. He loves us, but that love doesn’t mean that He is willing to leave us as He finds us. Just the opposite is true. God loves us outrageously and courageously. He loves us so much that His promise to us is that as we come to Him, He will grant us new life. Not just any kind of life, but life that is abundant and free.
We are told by Jesus in John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Free indeed means free of all the baggage we need to release, all the bad habits we presently regret. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!
New life, new creation, new beginnings, new hope, new promise, and new strength. Old habits may be tough, but new life is more powerful. Bring the baggage to Jesus and lay it at the foot of the cross. Live abundantly, and live free!
Vern