In any news room or publishing office, most senior editors have a bad
rap for terrorizing interns and junior writers into coming up with
better stories. While their ways may be traumatic, it is all for a
good cause — to come up with good content and to train the newbie to
write better.
We are much like interns in a publishing company — writing the story
of our lives day after day. We may sometimes make mistakes, we may get
into a writer’s block, or we may have picked a wrong angle to our
story and developed it poorly.
In life, these mistakes could be the poor choices we make, the
writer’s block may be emotional issues like depression or possibly
enslavement to sin. Picking the wrong angle to our story and poor
content development on the other hand can be likened to living life
without God at the center.
“A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech;
winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,
with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;
therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be
broken beyond healing.” Proverbs 6:12-15
But unlike the terror editors of news rooms around the world, our
Heavenly Father lovingly helps us rewrite our stories through His Son,
Jesus Christ. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, He will graciously
give us a clean slate that will allow us to rehash the story of our
lives and align it according to His good will.
“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
So how do we do this? Like a writer-in-training, we submit the “draft”
of our lives to Jesus, and allow Him to correct our mistakes, revise
our wrong life narrative, and help us develop our stories further
through sanctification and His abiding presence.
Practically speaking, this means surrendering our lives to Jesus by
proclaiming Him as our Lord and Savior. We do this when we confess and
repent of our sins, step away from our sinful lifestyle and follow His
teaching and commands one day at a time. It means committing ourselves
to spiritual growth by intentionally seeking Him everyday through
prayer and bible reading and reflection. It means living a life that
reflects His kindness, mercy, compassion, and love for others.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his
good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
When we do all these things, we basically allow the “Author of Life”
to rewrite our story. We allow Him to remove our entanglements from
sin, and free us from the guilt and shame that we bear everyday. Yes,
the same guilt and shame that keeps us from coming to God, and living
a new life from a clean slate.
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body
ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be
slaves to sin—” Romans 6:6
When we submit ourselves to Jesus, He will give us the chance to live
a new life centered on His peace, joy, and love which can transcend
the inevitable difficult circumstances in our life journey. He became
man to free us from the sins and guilt that enslave us, let us accept
His gift of abundant life.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to
ponder on Romans 6:1-23 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you struggle with trying to get on a clean
slate? Give your burdens to Jesus and He will allow you to live life
anew — free from all the sins, guilt, and shame that have been
keeping you from enjoying the abundant life He offers.
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father thank you for sending your
Son Jesus Christ to free us from our sins, guilt, and shame. Give me
the grace and confidence to live a new life, centered on your goodness
and mercy. Amen.
