He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Colossians 1:13–14 (NKJV)
When you were born, you were registered as a member of your parents’ family. Official documents were signed to verify that you were “born of” your mother and father. The trouble is, human beings are imperfect. For a variety of reasons, babies don’t always grow up belonging to the family they were born into.
On the other hand, God is perfect. When you made the decision to give your life to Jesus, a spiritual birth happened. Spiritual documents were written as your name was added to the Book of Life in heaven, which contains the names of every person who has ever made that decision. You officially became a member of God’s family. Nothing and no one can take that away from you!
You’ve been adopted in to God’s family, and as it says in our verse today, you were rescued from the “power of darkness” and 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that you became a new creation. In fact, your new identity as a result of this transformation is what gives you the power to really live.
It doesn’t work to try to follow God’s principles and “be good” without any revelation of this new identity. In fact, you’ll only strengthen the bad habits and tendencies you’ve fought in your life, which brings condemnation, shame and judgment. Instead, you need to know that your ability to change is wrapped up in realizing you have a new identity and a new power source.
You aren’t the person you were before you gave your life to Jesus. You are brand new, and are empowered to walk out an entirely new, better kind of life!