Under New Management
(Author Unknown)
As I was driving today, I couldn't help notice a sign outside a restaurant that read
"Under New Management" in bold, colored letters. The owners were trying to
convey the message that, even though the restaurant looked the same, perhaps even had a
similar menu, something was definitely different.
It wasn't easy to spot the change from a distance. My first impulse was to go inside and
question why things had to change. Why couldn't the new owners just pick up where the
former left off, keeping it "business as usual"? The answers were simple: the
former owners went bankrupt; they lost touch with what was important; their accounts were
out of order.
In order to bring it back to its former glory, the old had to be replaced with the new.
Some things, like the
design, had to change gradually so others could become accustomed to it. Others needed
immediate attention. But it had to come "Under New Management" for it to be
effective.
That's the same way it is with us, beloved, when we finally come into a relationship with
God: we have to come under new management . . . God's management! It can't be business as
usual! God places a sign outside our hearts and begins to phase out the old things, those
things which caused spiritual bankruptcy; those "accounts" in our lives that
were in disarray. They are the past.
These "accounts" are not important any longer, nor do they have any bearing on
God's ability to bring about
change in our lives. God's purpose is to restore us
to our proper status in Him. And maybe we won't suddenly wake up and see someone else in
the mirror . . .
maybe from a distance others can't notice the change, but make no mistake about it: we're
under God's new
management!
It might not always seem like it. Our life's menu might seem like it's unchanged, but we
can't be fooled! In some areas, we'll experience immediate change. In others, change will
be gradual. Before long, however, the new Owner will bring in more changes, a more
palatable menu for our lives and spiritual abundance. That's Jesus' heart and desire for
us.
"What this means is that those who become
Christians become new persons.
They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life
has
begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
"For what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must
die to one life
before we can enter into another!"
-Anatole France
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