’2 Corinthians 5:17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life has gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT)
The bible teaches us in 2 Corinthians that when we belong to Christ, when we have made the commitment to become a Christian and spend our lives pursuing his plan instead of our own, we are a new creation. Our old lives – our old selves – have gone and a new life begins. But what does this mean? Do we stop being who we were? Do we become a completely different person? Do our personality, likes, dislikes, passions and dreams have to change?
Well God has shown me, and is continuing to show me, that the answer is both yes and no.
So for the yes part…
We are giving God the permission to craft us, to mould us, to smooth out our rough edges, and form us into something new.
We all have areas in our lives that we both want and need to change: damaging habits, dangerous addictions, unholy language, the way we speak to people, negativity. But the only way that is going to change is when we have a transformation of heart and start to think in a new way.
Romans 12:2 ESV “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
When we change on the inside, it manifests itself on the outside. When we become a Christian this is the beginning of that change of heart.
Isiah 64:8 “And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.”
God is the potter, we are the clay. But it’s important here to take note that these things that God begins to change, to refine, are things that we do, not things that we are. They are the actions we take and the choices we make, rather than our character or our personality.
So now for the no part…
You were intentional. You were planned. You were crafted with care.
Continuing with the same analogy, when a potter moulds a piece of clay, the raw ingredient, the clay itself, remains essentially the same. Although the edges are smoothed out, although the appearance of that piece of clay is entirely different from where it began, the nature of the raw material is unchanged.
In the same way, when we invite God into our lives, he doesn’t just toss us aside and start again. He isn’t asking us to change our personality, the essence of who we are. Why would he? He’s the creator and he didn’t make a mistake when he created you. God doesn’t make mistakes.
What, then, if the change 2 Corinthians is referring to is actually God unveiling who we are?
We know our journey with God begins with us surrendering ourselves completely to his will, handing everything we are and have over to him (John 30:30). But then He begins to restore us, the real us, back to who we are created to be. He gives us back our true selves. God is all about the process of becoming more of his.
The more of God’s we become, the more ourselves we become.
Our true self; the “self” he had in mind when he created us in his image. The journey we embark upon is a delicate balance between choosing what is good and yielding what is damaging, yearning for more of God and relinquishing what isn’t His, pursuing His plans and, where it doesn’t match up, giving up our own. It’s important to remember that although on the surface it sometimes appears that there is a lot to be lost, God’s desire for us is always good. His benefits far outweigh our own loss.
So how does this process of becoming happen?
In Stasi Eldredge’s book “Becoming Myself” she describes two “agents” of change that we most often use when we try to become all on our own; shame and self-discipline. The voice of shame may motivate us to change by awakening us to areas that need change. The motivation of self-discipline may be essential to ensure we stay on track. But neither can speak life into our hearts, so neither will be a lasting agent of change. If we listen to the voice of shame alone, the message that we hear says “I basically hate me; I need to get rid of me”. If we listen to the voice of self-discipline alone the message that we hear says “I’ve got to fix me, because me is not good”.
The only agent of change that is true and lasting is God’s voice; the Holy Spirit is the only way we can become who we truly are, who we are intended to be. God says “I love you. Let me restore you”.
He has saved us and is saving us still. We are being transformed into the very image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18) and God is in the midst of our chaos. Right at the heart of our mess. Our transformation begins when we believe we are loved.
You are loved: Deeply, Profoundly, Unimaginably, Incomparably loved
2 Cor 3:16-18 says “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away…where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom… And we all who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory…” God is unveiling who we are in freedom so that with “unveiled faces” we might reflect his glory. God is in the business of setting us free and he invites us into this process of change. Transformation is a process. God is a God of process and he has his eye on eternity.
He is planning for an eternal transformation. Slowly. Carefully. Intentionally.
Pursuing our “becoming” involves saying yes to God again and again and again. God is at work in us and God is at work for us. Because he says he is. The scriptures promise it can happen (Phil 1:6). As we ask him daily, He continues to craft his beauty and presence more deeply into my soul, into your soul.
He is who he is, who he has always been and who he will always be. God is I am. He is not changing. Not becoming. He already is. And now because of him we too can becoming more ourselves. God isn’t waiting for us to become worthy of his affection. You are no more beautiful to him than you have ever been. I have only ever been lovely to God and so have you. He wants to help us to become. We can’t do it but he can (Rom 8:29).
Thank you God that you love me with an incredible, powerful, passionate love. Thank you that I was created perfectly and that your ultimate desire is that I become who you created me to be.
Please strip away that which is not of you. Please uncover who I truly am and help me to become more like you. Show me how you see me, how lovely I am to you.
Help me not to use only shame and self-discipline to bring about this change. But help me to hear your voice, speak to me clearly, guide me through the process of becoming.
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