“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.” 2 Corinthians 4:1
If you travel up and down the barrier islands of North Carolina, you’re likely to see some amazing and beautiful sights, one of which may be wild horses. It’s a common occurrence in coastal NC to see these magnificent creatures, and if you’re gentle enough, they’ll come pretty close. These horses are the ancestors of those horses that were brought to the Americas on Spanish trading ships during the 16thcentury, with more than a few of these ships finding themselves wrecked of the NC coast and horses by the dozens swimming their way to shore.
The horse was a real gamechanger to those in America as they were widely embraced and used for farming, transportation, and even war. Even Native Americans seized the opportunities that the horse brought to them and added hunting to that equation.
The only thing better than the horse, however, was the invention of the combustible engine in the early 1900’s, and even better was when the engine was connected to a drive train on a wheeled platform that could be steered and became known as the automobile and tractor. This new way took everything to a whole new level and just simply made life easier. But would you believe that in spite of all the advantages that engines, autos, and tractors brought to the table there were still many, at first, who resisted this new way. Some farmers and citizens actually refused to use a tractor or automobile and instead stuck with the horse power they were most familiar with.
In 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, the Apostle Paul urges people to turn to and stick with the “New Way” that God had provided through Jesus Christ. Certainly, the Law had had its place just as the horse had, but God, through His mercy, had provided a much better “way” through Jesus. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by Me.” Jesus made it clear to all that the old way of following the Law to gain favor with God was made obsolete by just simply putting one’s faith and trust in His finished work, and thus receiving the free gift of righteousness and favor with God.
Today, let’s continue to embrace the “New Way” and live victoriously.