something old, something new

1 John 2:^{7-8 (The Message Version)}My dear friends, I'm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you've known it from day one. It's always been implicit in the Message you've heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you—the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!

1 John 2:^7(NASB) Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

 ⁸On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.

When does the old become the new?  Usually the new becomes the old... In the Bible we have the Old Testament and we have the New Testament.  The Old Testament tells the story of God and Man through a family history (the Jewish people).  The New Testament proclaims the love of God for all men through His Son.  Both testaments call for a personal response to the Almighty.  When does the Old Testament become the New Testament for us...perhaps when knowing about God changes to actually knowing God.  I think the old becomes new when it has become part of our personal lives.  John seems to be telling us that we have had the commandments and the word of God for a long time.  But those commandments, and that word, becomes new to us on a personal level when we apply it to our own lives.  What if you actually met George Washington one day (maybe you will in Heaven)?  The old familiar knowledge of the father of our country would become the new personal knowledge based on interaction and conversation.  The old knowledge would become new.  John teaches that we will do best when we abide in the Lord.  This may be something we know that we should do...But it becomes new and fresh in our lives when we practice actually abiding.  I think many of the great truths have become dulled to us by their familiarity.  When we do what we know then we live and we grow.

 

blessings,

Rob Smith