“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17, ESV)
The amazing sacrifice of God’s one and only Son to reconcile His people back to Himself is one I will never fully grasp, but one for which I am eternally grateful.
Being a sinner saved by grace, Easter brings me to my knees in praise, giving thanks for Jesus’s sacrifice for you and me. It also reminds me of something we are to be doing in our daily lives. In the book of Luke, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me…” (Luke 9:23, ESV; emphasis mine)
Just as Jesus did throughout his entire earthly life, to deny oneself is a choice made daily. Being God, Jesus could have given Himself comfort, wealth, and power. But He didn’t. He denied Himself and took on the life of a servant, and died the most humiliating death: death on a cross. I must deny myself those things which distract from God’s will, submitting my will to His to bring glory and honor to Him. We are to deny who we were before we encountered Christ.
“Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires…” (Ephesians 4:22-24, ESV)
Putting off our old self means making a choice daily not to live in old habits or lifestyles. I have old habits of anger, procrastination, self-deprecation, and comparing myself to others, to name a few. But, I am a new creation in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) If the old has passed away, those habits no longer have power in my life, so I should not give them the power they demand. I put off these things every day and choose not to walk in them. It’s not always easy.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-24)
Since the Lord’s mercies are new every morning, I can make a choice every morning to walk in those new mercies. I must remind myself that I am a child of God, chosen and loved by Him. I am not perfect. He is. He made me, and through Him, I can do all things.
“…be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”(Ephesians 4:23-24, ESV)
Being renewed in the spirit of my mind. I put on the new self: Christ in me. Walking in the confident assurance that my Creator loves me, knowing He has a purpose for me. And the purpose He has for me is not the same as the one He has for you. So we can each walk in the truth of who God is and who He has made each of us to be.
Remember what Christ has done for you and choose to walk in that precious gift daily.
The old has passed away. Do not give your old self the power it demands.
