{"id":10793,"date":"2015-04-29T06:38:13","date_gmt":"2015-04-29T11:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?p=10793"},"modified":"2023-08-29T20:29:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T01:29:01","slug":"in-the-word-on-wednesday-2-corinthians-517","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2015\/04\/29\/in-the-word-on-wednesday-2-corinthians-517\/","title":{"rendered":"Word on Wednesday: 2 Corinthians 5:17"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Free<\/p>\n

This week’s memory verse (2 Corinthians 5:17) reminds me of spring. Don’t you love springtime? All the dead leaves of winter have been swept away, the lawn scalped, the flowerbeds cleaned out, and every day new signs of life appear.<\/p>\n

New baby birds chirp in their nests, young squirrels scamper about the yard, bulbs that have remained dormant underground for months burst forth with vibrant green leaves.<\/p>\n

When spring arrives, there is no holding all that life and vitality back!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Azaleas\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The same thing should be true of us as Christians. Christ came that we “might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10<\/a>) The life and vitality we have in Him should be obvious to all who know us: there should be no holding it back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think about a caterpillar changing into a butterfly — in one sense, he’s the same little bug, yet at the same time, his entire being has been radically transformed<\/strong> and scarcely resembles what he was before the metamorphosis.<\/p>\n

And there is absolutely no hiding the fact that this change has taken place.<\/p>\n

\"Butterfly\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That is the mental image I get when I read 2 Corinthians 5:17:<\/p>\n

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If we are “in Christ,” we are changed. Transformed. Completely remade.<\/p>\n

And there should be no hiding the fact that this change has taken place.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The verse can be found in the third set<\/a> of our Scripture Memory Flashcards:<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a><\/p>\n

click to print Scripture Memory Cards (set 3)<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

And for extra practice, I’ve made more handwriting printables, as well:<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a><\/p>\n

Click to Print Memory Verse Copywork (Set 3)<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plus, in case you missed them, here are links to the first two sets of flashcards and practice sheets, too:<\/p>\n