Remember when I was on my trip and my dog died?

And then he didn’t?

Yep, he was flatlined on the table. Gone. Arrangements were made for his little body. Lots of tears were shed, at home and abroad. Then, out of nowhere, he started breathing. His heartbeat, weak at first, became stronger and stronger, and two days later he came home. The vets said it was one for the books.

It was hard for me to imagine, without seeing it for myself, that he was completely normal. I mean, he’d been dead for quite a few minutes. His little brain was deprived of oxygen, for heaven’s sake. How could that not have had an effect? But I came home, and there he was, perfectly perky. Racing around like nobody’s business, apparently enjoying his new lease on life, he jumped up and into my arms. He has to eat a different food now, but he LOVES it, and on top of it all, his really bad (gut-wrenching, horrible) breath  has vanished.

VANISHED.

He is literally better than he was before.

He’s curled up next to me as I write. I’m thankful for his warm little body next to mine, and the fact that he knows me as he always has, but you know what? He seems grateful, too. It’s like he knows he got another chance, and he’s living out his gratitude.

I bet you know where I’m going with this. He’s like us, yes? Lying there, flatlining from terrible choices and their even more horrifying consequences, then with the name of Jesus on our dying breath, we’re suddenly back? We stand, shaky at first, but growing stronger with each step, we get to go home, running straight to the waiting arms of our Father. He lays out His perfect spread for us to enjoy…the Bread and the Cup…and the old stench of our lives is gone, replaced by the aroma of Christ.

Things may seem difficult in our day to day, and it’s easy to forget, sometimes, that we aren’t who we once were. But take a moment and remember today that you are no longer that person, if you are in Christ. You can race around in complete joy and gratitude, no matter what’s happening around you, because you are transformed.

You are new and improved.

And loved. Oh so LOVED.

“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 MSG

“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” 2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT

“…everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” Ephesians 4:24 MSG

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” John 3:16-17 MSG