You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV

“Will the true me please step forward?” This is what I want to ask. This is what I want to delve into. I have a gazillion scriptures and as many questions on my mind. I may have to make this topic a series.

I have a strong belief that God designed me uniquely for His purpose. Was the old me outside of His plan? Does the new me retain my uniqueness? In becoming more Christ-like will I lose my individuality, my identity? Will I lose myself to become a cookie-cutter image of every other Christ-follower? How could I be the new me instantly when I accepted Christ and still be dealing with the old me?

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

You’ve heard it said, “You can’t get there from here.” That’s what my mind tells me when I think about this whole concept.

The Holy Spirit led me back to the beginning. The Garden of Eden was utopian, a world were everything functioned together perfectly as intended. Adam and Eve lived in a harmonious relationship with their Creator and His creation. This is what I imagine our new creation, our new self, might look like.

Then came the introduction of sin. Pride, doubt, disobedience, fear, shame, and separation from God, wormed its way onto the scene. This became our new reality. This is the old self that nailed Jesus to the cross, the old self He took with Him to the grave and left there.

I grew up in the Me generation—everything geared toward finding yourself—but the Bible teaches a better way.

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT

Am I supposed to be me? I am a unique and flawed individual. Some days I soar on wings like eagles and some days I remember I’m dust.

I have more scriptures to examine, but I’ll save them for next time.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy

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