A re-occurring theme to me this month has been new life. Maybe it’s all of the babies I see tied to their mother’s back every day… also, my sister is a little over a week away from having a baby (pictured on the left), so I’ve been thinking a lot about that. The cat here at our contact house is pregnant with a bunch of kittens that you can literally see moving around, kicking and turning inside her… it’s really awesome! Knowing there is a beautiful baby boy that is fully alive and growing in my sister, just waiting to come into this world is so exciting for me. It’s a new life. It’s a life that God created. We can’t see the babies right now, but we know that they are there, alive and kickin’!
Aside from the literal new life that I am seeing, there is new life in another sense of the word. You don’t have to be a new-born baby to have new life. New life also comes from our Heavenly Father when we chose to let Him have our life. New life in the Father comes when we give our old life to Him (choosing not to live in sin) and He offers us a life of joy and fulfillment (following His commandments). This month we visited so many people all over town, prisons, street feedings, churches, etc… As we shared the Gospel with them and the hope that they can find in Jesus, I realized that a decision to follow
him and give up their ‘old life’ could mean a whole new beginning for them. A new life of comfort in Jesus and a hope of eternal life with their creator. God has given them a chance to be ‘reborn’ into His family! In John 10, Jesus says, “ I have come so that they may have LIFE and have it to the fullest..” You see, a life that is given to Jesus, and follows His example, is a FULL life. He wants the best for us because He loves us.. “In LOVE, He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.â€� Ephesians 1:5
Just like an unborn baby, we can’t see the new life yet, but we know it is there, growing stronger every day. I believe that same change is in all of the people we met this month, and even on the entire race! We might not see that life transform immediately, for some, having a new life might take a lot longer than others… (for example a human’s pregnancy is 9 months and a cat’s pregnancy is only about 7 weeks.)
The cool thing about pregnancies and new babies is that they eventually grow up, and they grow up quick! The minute you turn around, they are toddlers, then kids, then teenagers… it happens so fast! I know when I am done with the World Race, and I check back in on the ‘babies’ that I have met a long the way, those who are new at faith, those wanting and striving for a fresh start, they will already be growing up and changing into kids, and teenagers and adults… no longer ‘babies’. This is my prayer……..
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.� 1 Peter 2:2
