Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Reflection
The goal of genetic studies is to tell us what our DNA has programmed us to be and to do, in other words what the outcome is. Some outcomes are more visible and obvious such as whether we are male or female, or what color hair and eyes we have. Other outcomes are more subtle, affecting what habits we form, and making us prone to sin in certain ways. Maybe we’re more defensive, easily angered, or quick to judge. We might want to say “that’s who I am” or even that my DNA said so and that’s my outcome. But what these verses say is that in Christ, our outcome has completely changed. In some sense, we have new DNA, where our program is in Christ and our outcome is the newness in Christ. Our old sinful way of living has been crucified with Christ.
Responding to the Transmission
In Christ, our lives are not stuck. If we feel like we have certain sins repeating in our lives as if we’ve been programmed that way, may we declare today that the old is gone and the new has come. Christ loved us and gave Himself for us through the cross, and we can now live in incredible freedom. Let’s pray and believe that our old sinful way of living has been crucified with Christ, and we are new creations who live by faith in the Son of God.
