January 15, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"God's Ultimate Concern with Your Life"
2 Corinthians 5:17
If Anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The Old things have gone; everything is made new!
There are several forms of determinism prevalent in the fields of education and psychology today. One is a causal determinism, the belief that everything a person does is deter-mined by the shaping influences in their lives like parents and life experiences. Common expressions would include sayings like, “Once a person is five, their personality is shaped and you can't really change it.” A more popular kind of determinism says that we are primarily a psychological product of genetics, so our behavior and attitudes follow from the way we are “wired." Common Expressions of this would include: “I can't help it, it's just the way I was born"; or “a leopard can't change his spots”; or “the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.” Though nature and nurture have a huge impact on us as person, aren't you glad that there is a miraculous, powerful God who is able to change even the most stubborn, damaged, sinful heart? Paul goes so far as to say, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). After A change of heart at the moment of conversion, God isn't finished with us, either. Paul says: “We all show the Lord's Glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
But you don't understand my upbringing. You don't understand mistakes I've made. You don't understand how hard it is for me to break certain negative patterns. With grace, with faith, with the help of godly friends, you can say along with Paul: “I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above"(Philippians 3:14). Because of His forgiving, life-changing power, God's ultimate concern with your life is not where you've been but where you are going.
