What a Cardinal Can Do, Christ Has Done.
On a gray winter morning, the world can feel muted. The sky hangs low, the trees stand bare, and the landscape seems wrapped in a blanket of dullness. Everything looks still lifeless, and cold. But then—without warning—a brilliant red cardinal sweeps into the scene. Suddenly the whole picture changes. The splash of color transforms the dreariness into something hopeful, almost joyful. One small bird shifts the atmosphere.
Our spiritual lives can feel a lot like that winter landscape. Before Christ, we carry the weight of our old selves—habits that drain us, desires that deceive us, and patterns that leave us feeling dim, discouraged, and stuck. The apostle Paul understood this well. Writing to the believers in Ephesus, he urged them to step away from the old darkened way of life and embrace something entirely new—something only Jesus can create within us.
Paul writes that we are called “to put off your old self… and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22–24)
This isn’t a self-improvement project. It isn’t a matter of trying harder or polishing up the outside. It is transformation—deep, soul-level renewal that only Christ can accomplish. What the cardinal does to a bleak winter scene, Jesus does to the human heart. He brings color where there was only gray. He brings life where there was only coldness. He brings hope where there was only heaviness.
Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, we are invited to shed the old and step into the new. Jesus doesn’t just brighten our lives—He recreates them. He reshapes our desires, renews our minds, and restores our identity. He changes the look of our lives both inside and out.
The winter scene cannot brighten itself. The cardinal must enter. In the same way, we cannot transform ourselves. Christ must come in. And when He does, everything changes.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for stepping into the gray places of our lives with Your transforming presence. Help us to put off our old selves and fully embrace the new life You offer. Renew our minds, reshape our desires, and make us more like You in righteousness and holiness. Bring Your color, Your hope, and Your life into every part of us. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Photo: meganzopf - Pixabay.com