“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor 5:17)

Have you ever watched a hermit crab change shells? My best friend, Casey, raises hermit crabs, and has described the elaborate process to me. Hermit crabs will approach a new shell, spin it around, and examine it to make sure it doesn’t have any holes in it. Then, they stick their heads and legs inside to examine the interior and see if it’s smooth. If they like it, they will climb out of their old shell and into the new one. If it doesn’t fit quite right, they will come out of it and put their old shell back on.

Casey discovered her love for hermit crabs last year when she and her family brought back two hermit crabs from a vacation to San Antonio. After arriving home, the crabs failed to thrive. She began doing research and found out that everything she’d been told by the store in San Antonio about caring for hermit crabs was wrong. She set out to find correct information and has since joined and moderated forums about properly caring for hermit crabs, made her own crab food, and created environments in which they can thrive. She even crochets hermit crabs with removable shells to sell through her Etsy shop. She has rescued five crabs from people like herself who got them on vacation but then couldn’t take care of them. She now has a total of 10 hermit crabs.

The crabs’ ritual when changing shells reminds me of the way we are “to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires…and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22, 24). When we call on Jesus and ask him to save us, we are to leave our old lives behind, just as the crabs leave their old shells behind. There is a taking off of the old (things we should stop doing) and putting on of the new (things that we should start doing). Things we need to stop doing may include spending time with the wrong people, gossiping, or filling our minds with negative images. Things we need to start doing may include spending time reading God’s word, praying, or looking for ways to help others. When we look to Jesus, he will give us the strength we need to move forward into our new life with him.

Dear Jesus, thank you that we have the opportunity to leave the old behind and find new life with you. Amen.