Worms & Butterflies

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Corin. 5:17

What does it mean to be a new creature? To be different, not the same... Even more than that though. It means to be a completely, totally NEW (definition~ fresh: original and of a kind not seen before) person. Hmmm.. of a kind not seen before. That would mean people should not even recognize you! I'm so thankful Christ made me new. What I was before was an ugly ol' worm! Jesus Christ turned me into a beautiful butterfly! Ok, that's corny but it's true!

I say all of this #1, because I'm thankful for my new life in Christ. I am not the same Crystal that I was 5 years ago. Everything about my life has changed. But #2, I'm worried that there are so many people out there professing Christianity without any newness about them at all. I mean now days, everybody's a 'Christian'. But if you look at what the Bible calls someone who has really met Christ, it's totally different than what most "Christians" look like today (inside and outside of the church). Should our standard not be the Jesus Christ of the Bible?

To be a Christian means to be Christ-like. So (remembering the fad of the WWJD braclets), what would Jesus do? Would Jesus hide hatred in his heart? Would He lie? Would He tell nasty jokes? Would he watch movies with foul language? Would He miss church on Sunday? Would He sit at the bar (or in front of His TV) and down a few cold ones? Would He read His Bible? Would He look at ugly things on the internet? And the list goes on..

Ephesians 5:1 says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children."