Renewed in Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The two greatest commandments, as taught to us by Jesus Himself, are:

1)  Love God with you whole heart, whole mind, whole soul and with all your strength.

2)  Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Jesus went on to teach us that all other commandments hang off of these two.  These two great commandments are broken down in what we know as The Ten Commandments.  The first half of which direct our behavior toward God and the second half which direct our behavior toward one another.

The Ten Commandments represent the summation of the law by which we are all called to live in order to be worthy to live with Almighty God in heaven.  Unfortunately, no man, not one, can meet the requirements of these commandments, at least not in the flesh.

Fortunately, through the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace of Almighty God, we were given His Son in a new covenant.  No longer judged by the law, our eternal resting place is determined by our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Through our relationship with Jesus, we are given a new nature, fully acceptable to Our Father in heaven.  

While the old man, crippled by his sin, continues to struggle in the flesh, the renewed man in Christ acts with a renewed heart given to Him as a workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus to do good works.  The old things pass away one by one in exchange for the righteousness of Our Savior.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we rest at the foot of the Cross in thanksgiving for the eternal lives that we receive through Your Son, Jesus.  We praise Your name for the mercy that You have extended to us as Your receive us in the image of Your Son because of the atonement that He provided for our sins.  We rejoice in receiving the new natures that we have been given so that our service for You shall be judged worthy.  We pray, Lord, that You accelerate us toward the day in which the last bit of the old man has passed away and we love You with our whole hearts, whole minds, whole souls and all of our strength.