And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption. All bitterness, anger, and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.     Ephesians 4:31 HCSB

Many years ago, I moved from my grandmother’s old house to a much smaller house. This smaller house was probably half the size of my grandma’s house. My sister had lost her house by fire and was moving into our grandma’s house until her new house was completed. To save the problem with space, I took my furniture but left a lot of dishes and towels and sheets and things I knew she had lost in the fire. I figured she could use these things. Had it been someone else moving in, I would probably have had to throw a lot of these things away. I just didn’t have room for them at the new house.

Now the great thing about the new house is that it was on the water about 20 minutes away from my family. I was still close enough to visit and for them to visit me, but I was on the water. I don’t know about you, but I find the water to be very calming. I could literally sit on my sofa and look out my glass doors to the canal in my back yard. I could watch boats and ducks and the occasional snake or alligator float by. I loved my new house but had to leave many things behind.

As a new Christian there were many things I also had to leave behind. Now the interesting thing is that several years later my circumstances would change. My sister had built her house and moved out and I ended up moving back into grandma’s house. My life as a Christian was like that. I accepted Christ as a pre-teen and did well. But there came a time in my life when I began to backslide and move back into my old ways. I picked up some of those things I had left behind.

The good news is eventually I gave grandma’s old house to my nephew and his wife, and it was moved just around the corner. With the property cleared, I built a brand-new house where the old one had stood. So just like my Christian life, I re-committed my life to Christ. When I did this, I had to remove things from my life. Our Scripture passage tells us that we must remove things like anger, wrath, shouting, slander and all malice from our lives.

Are you trying to move to a new house by still holding on to a bunch of old stuff you need to get rid of? When I built the new house, my furniture just didn’t match. I had to buy all new furniture. It was a complete change. This is how our Christian life has to be. We must put off the old and bring in the new. Ephesians 4:32 tells us to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God forgave us in Christ.

I don’t miss anything I left behind. I am much happier with the new house and the new me.  You will be too!

Have a great day!