Have you ever seen a car restoration? It’s quite amazing to see an old junk car brought back to life and put back in pristine condition. There’s a lot of time and money invested into getting these cars in good working condition again. The finished product though is something to behold. Those who restore these cars don’t just see the car in its present condition. No, they see what it can be.
Similarly Jesus is in the business of restoring and renewing people. Jesus can take anyone in any condition and turn them into something amazing. Jesus has already paid the price to make us new. He also doesn’t see us only in our present condition, but what we can be through Him.
John Newton is a good example of this. John Newton was a slave trader and slave ship master.Most people would have written him off. What did God do with him though? Well he became a minister and if you don’t know he is also the author of the song, Amazing Grace. Yep that’s right. He had an encounter with God that changed him forever and was used to write a song that has been sung for years across the world. In later years, Newton fought alongside William Wilberforce, leader of the parliamentary campaign to abolish the African slave trade. This is just one example of how God took someone and made them a new person. We could sit all day and talk about all the lives that God has turned around and made better.
He can do this for you too. He can do this for your neighbor, your coworker or the druggy on the corner. Don’t think someone is too far gone, including yourself. I’ve heard the statement, “the roof would fall in if I walked in the church.” So you’re saying that what you did is worth more than the blood of Jesus? No, of course it’s not. So search for His grace, ask Him to renew you. Ask for the new birth experience and Jesus will make you new.
Titus 3:4-5 ISV
4 In grace our Savior God appeared, to make his love for mankind clear.
5 ‘Twas not for deeds that we had done, but by his steadfast love alone, he saved us through a second birth, renewed us by the Spirit’s work,
2 Corinthians 5:17 NET So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come!
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