For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25 (NKJV)
Sometimes we can get caught up in wanting to follow a “do-nothing gospel”—just enough of Jesus to give us fire insurance against going to hell. It’s true that you can give your life to Christ and keep doing whatever you were doing before, but it’s not the best way to live. The Bible teaches us that if we want the incredible life Jesus has for us, we have to follow Him in death.
I know, that sounds pretty morbid and extreme. But you have to lose your old way of living. As a new creation, you need to let go of those old habits and thoughts.
I’m not condoning this in any way, but when I was young, an old farmer told me the secret to stopping a dog that kept killing chickens. “Just duct tape a dead chicken to the dog’s neck, he said, and leave it there for a few days. By the time you peel it off, that dog won’t touch another chicken because he can’t stand the smell.”
That reminds me of many Christians who are walking around today hand-cuffed to their old way of living. Those old habits and thought processes are stinking up their life, yet they continue to drag them around.
You’re empowered to move on, but you need to lay down that old life. Through God’s Word, start building your confidence in the fact that you’re a new creation and then step out in faith in that new realization. Lay down your old memories, identities, problems and even successes.
Like Paul, you can forget all things that are behind you and press forward (Philippians 3:13)!