New Identity

2 Corinthians  5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

So, what does it mean to have a “new” identity?  Why is that important?  Our first identity, the “old” we were born with, was interested in satisfying self or flesh.  We are all born sinners (Romans 3:23), destined to die a sinner’s death (Romans 6:23).  But Christ came and made the way for us to be reconciled (vs 18 and Romans 5:8).  

Many start their journey with Christ because of frustration or painful consequences that have made them realize there is more to life—a better way. We desire change in our lives and want it “now.”  Nothing is wrong with this desire; it is the starting point for change.

Unfortunately, our desire to change has a time frame: “now.”  But we go about fixing the behavior rather than the cause of the behavior. The problem is much deeper than our behavior.

That is like trying to stop a domino from falling, only to find it falling repeatedly. When we step back and examine the cause of the problem, we find that several dominos are already tumbling before the one you are attempting to correct.

The problem is that we must go back to the root of the problem, the beginning. The “New Creation” is different from the old. The old was about self and its desires, while the new creation is about God’s plans.

The new birth (Romans 10-9-10) is the beginning of change, becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 2:6) and abiding in Him.

To achieve actual change, we must start at the root or heart level and then change behaviors. Otherwise, we are only putting a band-aid on the behavior; we may or may not stop the behavior now or in the future, but getting to the root cause will eliminate the problem.

It is discouraging to find out that there is no quick fix, but then again, God has done the foundational work, the work we could not do.  He has made the way for us to transition through Jesus Christ.  He is committed to our change, as shown by sending His Son.  Our job now is to turn to Him and follow His plan (spelled out in the Bible), and we must take the time necessary to learn and understand His plan for our lives.  We need to have a relationship with Him, be obedient to His direction for us, and love others as He has loved us.

We must learn to take time, meditate on God’s Word, be still and allow Him to talk to us, and begin to operate in obedience to His plan for our lives.