Becoming Like JesusSample

Putting on Your New Nature

My pastor recently said, “calling is about who you are, before what you do.” As I ponder “who I am,” I’m tempted to list the roles I play: wife, mother, friend, mentor, etc. But that is not “who” I am. Who I am has much more to do with my character than my roles. It has to do with who I am becoming.

As followers of Christ, we are being transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ. From the moment of salvation, we begin this transformation process. While it is a life-long process, it is not a passive process. Philippians 2 tells us to “work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling.” In this verse, Paul is not telling us to work for our salvation (we are saved by faith, not by works), but he is telling us that we must work hard to ensure that every area of our life reflects the truth of the gospel, which is that we have been saved from the penalty of sin and are a new creation. We are no longer enslaved to our sinful desires but are now people who reflect Jesus’ character. That “new creation” is who we are.

Over the coming days, we will look at the life of Jesus to discover who He is and how He lived. As we learn more about his character, my prayer is that the Lord will give us eyes to see where we are reflecting Jesus well and where we need to grow in our likeness to Him.