For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3 (NIV)
Elvis Presley died in 1977, yet some say they’ve seen him since. How can we explain this? Maybe they saw a lookalike or impersonator. Who knows? One thing is for sure though. Every single sighting was an illusion. Elvis is gone.
In the same way, your old nature is gone. If you’ve given your life to Christ, you’ve become a new creation. So why continue to live like the old you?
Many Christians still think of themselves as that old self who has the same inability to overcome bad habits. They think they need to try to become “good,” but the more they try, the more they feel defeated. Every time they mess up, it confirms to them that they’re the same old flawed, hopeless mess they were before they gave their lives to Christ. This “new person” they supposedly became when they accepted Christ seems like an illusion. But it’s not true!
As a believer, you are already good in God’s eyes. You’re acceptable. You don’t need to earn His approval, and you have His power within you. You just need to make new choices based on who you really are—a child of God!
Walking out this “new you” does involve changing your habits and behaviours, but the strength to do so comes from God’s Word and from realizing that a miracle took place when you gave your life to Christ.
The truth is you don’t have to live with the same old problems and struggles. You’ve been made brand new, so say, “Look out world! Here I come!” That’s the attitude you can have as a new creation.