Today someone asked me if our adopted son knew who Coby and I are. Like, does he know we are his parents? It’s always a question I struggle to answer. Yes, he does know who we are and we go by “mommi” and “poppi” when we are at his orphanage. But, in all honesty, I don’t know if he really understands yet who we really are. For one, he is only two years old and he may not be able to comprehend we are his parents. And secondly, I don’t even know if he understands the concept of a family. He’s never really had one. He has incredible caretakers and is loved by many, but how do you explain to him something that he has never been a part of? How do you explain he is going to have clothes of his own…and toys, too? How do you tell him he will have brothers and sisters who cannot wait to spoil just him?
How can he understand the depth and length and width and height of our love for him?
I think as believers, we also struggle with this concept. We are told we are a “new creation,” but do we really understand what that means? Can we truly comprehend what God is doing in our lives?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Cor. 5:17
Maybe we struggle with this idea because we haven’t seen yet what we will become?
God is still doing a work in us. He is molding us and transforming us into His image. Sometimes it is hard to imagine what we will become and how we will get to the end result.
Of course, this means trusting God to get us there.
It means allowing God to use whatever means He thinks is necessary to transform us. It means sometimes the fire will be hot. And we may not like it. At all! But in order for the old to be gone, we have to allow God to do His work in us. We have to trust He knows what He is doing. No matter what the cost. No matter how difficult the pain. We must continue to believe we are a work in progress and the new is here. It’s here…beneath all the clutter. It may take some refining, and polishing, and deep-cleaning for God to reveal the new you. Oh, and yes, it may also take some time.