Long Ago

Once upon a time…. What do you think of when you hear this phrase? Are you drawn into an adventure land mindset ready to experience unexplained wonders? Children’s books often start with this expression because it makes you excited or intrigued to hear more. It is like an invitation to open your mind and let the imagination drift into paradise. Or maybe it’s a reflection of a life experience. Once upon a time I was fast, strong, or successful. Or possibly a lament. Once upon a time I had money, a happy family, or a successful sports team.

Looking Back

In either case, we are looking back and reflecting on what is long past. Sooner or later, God just might use this reflection to help you move forward. I know He did in my life. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) I would venture to say many of us have experienced darkness in our faith “once upon a time” before God called us back with his grace. In this verse Paul tells the Ephesians; Once you were really dead; but now you are really alive in Christ. Once you were really separated from God, but now you have been brought near through Christ. Once you were darkness, but now you are “light in the Lord.”

The Old Is Gone

Does this ring a bell “once upon a time” in your life? If so, you can relate how the Holy Spirit has worked in your heart. Indeed, a wonderful feeling. What you will experience is a fundamental reality change, a genuine transformation, when you receive God’s grace through faith. A transition moving from past to present… “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old has gone, the new is here! Therefore, through faith, we live a new life in Christ Jesus. Sin no longer rules over us because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.

The New Has Come

We are told in Romans 6:10, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”  Christ gave Himself for us “once upon a time” and by His resurrection, showed the world that sin and death is defeated. Thus, a new life given to us through our faith. This new life we now can live in Christ is filled with the joy of an eternal promise. I know there will be challenges and difficulties that we will encounter but there is always a joy to be found in a life lived for God. The new life in Christ never gets old, renewed each and every day with this timeless story… Once upon a time, “God so loved the world, that He sent His one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) And all God’s people said, Amen.