What Do You Need To Let Go Of?

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

One of my favorite shows to watch growing up was Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. If you’re not familiar, the show followed a crew of people who would bless a family with a brand new home, and they would build the home in just seven days while the family was on vacation.

It amazed me to see how quickly this crew could construct a house from scratch, and it was always so heartwarming to see the family’s reaction when they returned to see their new home.

During the reveal portion of the show, the new home was staged with new furniture and decor to add to the dramatic transformation. But the furnishings and decorations were not actually gifted to the family like the house was. The family was given the option to purchase the staging items, but more often than not, the family would choose to stick with the furniture they already owned.

So upon receiving this brand-new house, the family would move all of their old belongings, possessions, furniture, and decorations into their new living space.

The more I think about this dynamic on the show, the more I realize that many people live this way when it comes to following Jesus.

When we surrender our lives to Jesus and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, Scripture promises us that we are a new creation. The old has passed away, and the new has come. We are brand new, just like those houses were brand new.

However, so often, people accept Jesus and instead of walking into their new life as a new creation, they hold onto their old belongings - old sin, old habits, old relationships, old coping mechanisms - and those things from their old lives tend to hold them back from walking in the full freedom that is available in Christ Jesus.

So many of us think that we can follow Jesus without letting go of the things that we’re better off leaving behind.

We convince ourselves that our relationship with our significant other makes us happy, even though we know deep down the relationship isn’t God’s best because it’s with someone who isn’t also following Jesus.

We assure ourselves that it’s fine if we have the drink to take the edge off, or eat all the ice cream in the freezer when we’re upset, or have a smoke to ease our anxiety when we know full well that Jesus wants us to come to Him and Him alone when we’re in need of peace and comfort.

We’re confident that we’ll be fine if we stay in our friend group instead of finding new Christian friends, even though we know that our friends are having more of a negative effect on us than we’re having a positive effect on them.

We bring the old furniture into the new house, thinking it’ll all be okay.

But friend, Jesus never intended for you to bring your old ways into your new life. He made you a new creation. Brand new. All of the old was washed away. You were given a clean slate to start fresh. You were granted a whole new life, one where you will find fulfillment in Jesus rather than the things of this world.

Is there something from your old life that you’re holding onto? Are you struggling to let go of old sin, old habits, old relationships, or old coping mechanisms? If that’s you, I pray today will be the day you choose to let go. May you make a point to pray and ask Jesus to help you leave your old life behind so that you can step into the new life He has in store for you.

I can assure you with full confidence that He will not ask you to walk away from anything that He will not replace with something better.