Under New Management
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Ephesians 2:4-8 (NLT)
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to 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: 17-24 (ESV)
In our faith journey, we often struggle to fully embrace our new identity in Christ. Letting go of our former selves, shaped by deceitful desires, and allowing our minds to be renewed so that we may be created in the likeness of God is a continual process (Ephesians 4:23-25). To walk in this newness of life, we must live in alignment with Christ. By placing our hope and faith in Jesus, we can experience radical transformation.
The tension between our old selves and new selves is often because we are stuck in the past – trapped by past hurts and desires. However, Paul reminds us in Ephesians that transformation is possible, even in the face of personal struggle. Before his encounter with Jesus, Paul persecuted Christians and was responsible for pain in the lives of many. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” that he repeatedly asked God to remove. There is debate over what this thorn represented – a personal struggle, a physical alignment, or something in Paul’s past. However, what is clear is that Paul understood what it means to walk in faith while still struggling.
Despite his repeated prayers, God did not remove Paul’s thorn. Instead, God responded with “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). This powerful truth reminds us that the thorns we experience in our walk with Christ are not meant to discourage us but to draw us closer to God and His sustaining grace. There is nothing we can do in our own strength to bring ourselves closer to Him (Ephesians 2:8). However, when we lean into His grace, immerse ourselves in His word, and pray, we can experience true transformation and witness the spirit bear fruit in our lives. This happens when we stop waiting to feel motivated and instead choose to walk in obedience and discipline in the things of God. As we do this, our appetite for the things of this world begins to fade and is replaced with a deeper appetite for God.
There are three ways we can live under new management in Christ:
Be fit with love and filled with grace – As we receive God’s grace and love, we are empowered to extend that same love and grace to others enabling us to fulfill the great commission as we become witness to what it means to follow Christ.
Be fit with prayer – Prayer places us in the presence of God, where our priorities are realigned and our burdens are lifted.
Be fit in the Word – Reading God’s word anchors us to God and allows our minds to be renewed.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for your continued love and mercy. Thank you for making a way for me to know you, to experience your Spirit, and to be transformed by your presence. Remind me that your grace is sufficient when I falter, and help me to be a light to those around me – a living witness to the love, patience, and grace you have generously shown me. Amen.