Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! -2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

I was thinking about toxic mold the other day, and all the things we can learn about Biblical truths from it. You know how when your house gets contaminated with toxic black mold growing in it you have to get rid of everything? And I mean, everything. Mycotoxins permeate every single surface that isn’t metal or glass. Like really, when we moved out of our original house in Washington state, we thought we had gotten rid of everything- furniture, papers, books, mattresses and more. But then, when we got to Montana, we realized how much we still had that was still causing big problems. So we got rid of everything again–sheets, blankets, curtains, stuffed animals, board games, plastic containers, etc. Except, even that wasn’t enough! Besides, everything got contaminated all over again from where we were living at that point. When we moved to Arizona, we continued to get rid of our stuff, and clean everything thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly). Even then, when we moved to the house we are in now, we started fresh with everything: new clothes, new bedding, some metal folding chairs, and all new food, bathroom supplies, etc. We knew from experience how hard it was to find a safe and clean place, and also to keep it that way. The only things that we kept throughout the whole process were our glass dishes (and a few vases), our metal silverware, pots, and few metal decorations (and a few electronics fit somewhere in there), that could be cleaned intensely, and ended up ‘safe’. 🙂  Even as we’ve been in our house around a year, we are still extremely careful what comes in, because if even the tiniest thing gets cross-contaminated, it could be disastrous.

Which reminds me of the verse at the beginning of this post. If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old has gone, and the new has come! A new creation! Completely fresh, able to start all over again. The old is gone. Just like with mold, when we are in Christ, we get rid of everything of the past, and we get to start fresh. And when we get rid of either the sin or the mold, not only is the old, toxic mold or toxic way of life gone, but the new has come!

However, that doesn’t mean that there are no concerns anymore. When I leave the house, almost no matter where I go, I am bombarded by toxins in the air I breathe, whether it is the chemicals on every single person around me, the mold in a building, or so much more, my body is constantly fighting it. I have to pay attention to how long my body can handle something, if I’m going to be exposed to something unexpectedly, or if doing something specific, or being around a certain person or place will mean I have to take a nap or detox bath later. I constantly have to evaluate and be on my guard.

The same is true in our Spiritual life. While the old has completely gone, and we have power over sin, the new has come- we still live in a fallen world. We have to guard against sin and temptation. We are still in a constant battle. Only we now know what to look for, and we know what is right or wrong, what to avoid and what to seek. Just like I’ve had to learn with mold–if I see a house that is really old, and has water damage, chances are that it has toxic mold and I can be on my guard.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. -Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)