A Weekend Of Leaving Behind What You Were

It's easy to tell which blackberries are ready to be picked - the ones that are black.

This may sound silly, but it's truly how you choose berries. If they're completely black, they're good to go. But then there are red ones, light pink ones and even some partially black and partially red.

The color makes a dramatic difference in texture and taste, so we wait until they've changed from their light beginning color to that deep black they get their name from.

If you don't look carefully, you can accidentally pick a berry that is black on the top but red underneath. From your perspective above the bush, it looks like a good, ripe berry. But underneath, it's nowhere close to ready.

Common sense, right?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

This well-known verse seems like common sense, too. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are a new creature, but how have we done at shedding the old man and putting on the new? Have all the old things of our former life been laid aside? Or are we still holding on to a few old things that feel comfortable and familiar?

Make this a weekend of leaving behind what you were. In Christ you are a new creature, so do a heart condition analysis. If you find anything that would fit into the "old" category, confess it and move on. Continuing to live with these old things in your life is like being a berry that's red on one side and black on the other. It's not good for anything ... yet.

This weekend, grab hold of your new creature status and leave the two-toned life behind.

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