Articles
THE “NEW NORMAL” REVISITED
In April of this year, I wrote an article dealing with the pandemic that hit in March. The
phrase heard over and over were the few words, “the new normal.” At that time I wrote about the
unchanging nature of God and while the world struggled with the concept of the “new normal,”
we were reminded that our God never changes. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
For whatever reason this week, the phrase “new normal” has played on my mind. No, I
won’t be repeating the article from April, but I would like to consider again those few words that
now seem to define our lives. Yes, the “new normal” requires masks and safe distancing. It has
limited our activities at home and abroad (vacationing in other places has been severely limited).
And we have all pined for the good old days of meeting all together for worship and Bible
classes. Many of us have struggled with expectations due to the “new normal,” because they
have restricted what we are accustomed to doing on a daily basis.
But consider for a moment a “new normal” that Christians committed to when baptized into
Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul reminds us, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). He outlines
the same consideration in his letter to the Romans, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to
sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). In the Ephesian letter, Paul explains the
change from old to new when he identified our “former” walk (Eph. 2:1-2), alluding to the idea
that we live a “new” life, or a “new normal!”
Over a period of only a few months, we have adapted to the “new normal” of dealing with a
virus. But for some of us as God’s children, we may continue to battle the change from an old
way of life to a “new normal” found in Christ Jesus; sometimes choosing rather to live the
“former” life. The “new normal” is a life that shines brightly for the world to see. A life that is
joyful and filled with hope because we know God is in control and has prepared a place for us
eternally. And just like in our physical lives being careful to follow the “new normal,” we need
to examine more closely our lives in Christ Jesus to be sure we are living the “new normal” (2
Cor. 13:5). Have you truly committed your life to the “new normal” in Christ Jesus?
~P. Mowrer
