From Old to New

Spiritual rebirth marks a transformative stage when a person is renewed by the Living Water of Jesus Christ. This experience brings vitality and freedom to the soul. Out of the old and into the new. From death to life. Such renewal is essential, as new life cannot flourish while old attitudes and behaviors persist. As Jesus observed regarding the new and old covenants, “new wine cannot be put into old wineskins” (Matthew 9:17); this principle also applies to personal refinement or spiritual growth.

Once a person awakens to God’s grace, a lifelong season of growth begins—much like a harvest that bears fruit. In agriculture, harvesting unfolds through several steps:

Reaping: Gathering crops, symbolizing the acceptance of faith sown within you.

Threshing: Separating grain from husks, spiritually representing self-refinement through challenges that remove outdated habits and pride.

Cleaning: Washing and sorting the yield, which signifies discarding anything that does not nurture life.

Hauling: Moving the crop for further processing, reflecting the continual nature of personal growth.

This refinement can also be compared to pressing oil, making wine, or the formation of a diamond under pressure. Though these processes may be difficult, they are crucial for growth. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He makes all things beautiful in its time.”

Transformation is ongoing and produces results more beautiful than we can imagine. Consider God’s creation—our own transformation mirrors the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Divine wisdom is evident throughout creation, and transformation is a common theme; the outcomes—like oil and wine which provide flavor and texture in baking, the women full of excitement when presented with a diamond during a proposal, or butterflies aiding in a plant’s reproduction; all in which enrich people and benefiting not only the individual but including those around them or in direct relationship with them.

God's love extends to all people, and we are being transformed each day to reflect Jesus more. Welcome this journey, knowing it fosters your growth and well-being. As Jeremiah 29:11 assures us, God has plans to prosper you and give you hope and a future.

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He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 AMP

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. NKJV

Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Blessings,

MG