35 Days until Easter

35 Days until Easter
He might as well have been talking to me directly.  His conversation was with Nicodemus, but his message was for me.  
Jesus’s message was clear.  You don’t get a new car by giving an old jalopy a new paint job.  Things under the hood have to be replaced and restored. And Jesus gets straight to the point with Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”


I remember one Christmas growing up and things were tight financially,  which meant that Mama and Daddy had to be creative when it came to gifts.  That Christmas morning, we opened the few gifts that were set out and then Daddy announced that there was one more surprise outside.  I was the closest to the door, so I was the first one out. And there she stood, bold and blue. Not a pale, baby blue. A bright, royal blue.  The metal body. Blue. The handle bars. Blue. The rubber tires. Blue. The spokes. Blue. The torn banana seat. Blue. They couldn’t afford a new bike that year, so my dad spray painted my old bike.  Blue. Although she looked different and very blue, she was the same old bike. The same kink in the chain. The same rusted out nuts to adjust the seat. Everything about how she functioned was still the same. Although I look back fondly on that present and am so thankful that I got my same bike that year for the lessons it taught me about what really matters, the fact of the matter is that it still had it’s old issues because a new coat of paint could not change the things that mattered to its function.  
God sent His Son as a gift to make us new.  
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16
Grace and mercy and a renewal of my heart are gifts of the deepest love.  Nicodemus wasn’t quite getting it and sometimes we don’t either. We get caught up in logistics.  We get legalistic. We get judgmental. Rules. Traditions. Dress codes. It’s not a gift that we get from upholding all the traditions or looking a certain way.  It’s a gift and it is for all. Those who believe and know Him can know redemption and salvation and can be made new.


“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  Behold, the old has passed away; the new has come.”  2 Corinthians 5:17

 He restores.  There is nothing He can’t make worthy.  


 Thank You for taking a wretched soul like me and making me new.

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