I Accepted Christ: Now What?Sample

A New Creation

When I walked my daughter down the aisle, she had my last name. A few short minutes later, the pastor announced her to the crowd with a new name—her husband’s name. She was still my daughter, but she was now also something else. Something new.

Imagine how ridiculous it would have been if my daughter had gotten married, left her groom in the church, jumped into the backseat of my car, and returned to her old room.

Scripture calls Christ our bridegroom. When we accept Christ, we become a new creation with a new family, a new nature, and a new inheritance. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten, and God becomes our Father. Who we once were no longer matters. We are entirely born again. That is amazing news!

Yet often, after becoming a Christian, we celebrate for a moment and then continue to live our lives the way we always lived them. We watch the same sin-filled shows, tell the same offensive jokes, and pursue the same worldly goals. We have been made new, but it would be hard for anyone else to notice. Why, after receiving such an amazing new life, would we ever want to crawl back into our old one? We’re loved, wanted, and cherished by God Himself, yet we continue to strive for significance and meaning when we already have it.

My daughter’s honeymoon was only a week-long, but when she returned, she looked different. Each day since, she’s grown more into her new identity as wife, daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law - no longer a little girl but a fully grown woman.

As you learn to embrace your new identity as a child of the King, what are some of the “old comfortable patterns” that you must leave behind?

What would it look like for you to live as a child of God in your workplace? Your marriage? Your parenting? Your friendships?

How might your new identity inspire you to treat others differently?