Galatians 6:14-15 GNT
As for me, however, I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. [15] It does not matter at all whether or not one is circumcised; what does matter is being a new creature.
The only thing that really matters is being a new creature, a new creation in Christ. Realizing that and being consistently conscious of that is at the heart of what it means to have a renewed mind. Because our assignment involves our living in this world, what happens in the world around us is relevant but not essential. Because we were crucified with Christ, the world died to us, and we died to the world. Because of the resurrection of Christ, we are a new creation, and the wonders of what it means to be a New Creature in Christ is the great truth that produces glorious liberty in our lives no matter what is happening in the world around us. No matter how darkness surrounds us on the outside, the most crucial truth and reality is that we are new creations in Christ. Nothing that the world does can change that or affect that. Think about Paul and Silas in Acts 16, beaten and chained in the lower dungeon of the Philippian jail, awaiting a likely death sentence the next day. In the midst of their pain, confinement, and bleak future, they were singing praises to God at midnight. How could they do that? I’m 100% convinced that it is because they remembered the most important thing; the only thing that really matters, which was that they were new creations in Christ seated in heavenly places, and therefore Jesus in the realm of heaven was their true environment. Because of their freedom in the midst of their pain and imprisonment, there were lights into the darkness that resulted in the harvesting of the soul of the Philippian jailer and all of his family. Paul and Silas were crucified to the world, and the world was crucified to them. The world around them didn’t dictate truth to them. Their position in Christ as new creations was the truth that kept them free. The Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free,” and Jesus said, “He who the Son sets free is free indeed.” Oh, the glorious liberty of the children of God, especially in times like these. Truly Christ is all (all that matters and everything we need) and in all.