Under New Management
For many, Christianity is an exercise in behavior modification. God gives us a list of “To Dos” and “To Don’ts”, and it’s our job to do and don’t them as best we can—right? Wrong! Actually, being a follower of Jesus isn’t about a change in behavior…it’s about a change in identity! Christians are people under new management. We’re not who we used to be. So why do so many of us struggle with our new identity? Why is it hard to believe God when He says we’re loved, chosen, and blameless? It’s time to address the gap between who we think we are and who God says we are, and see what it really means to be under new management.
Part 1
Meet the Manager
Legendary theologian A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Our view of God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—affects every area of our life, especially our identity. Is God great and good? Or is He distant and apathetic? If we want to have a correct view of our identity, it starts by having a correct view of God. So who is God and how does His identity change and shape my identity?
Part 2
It’s Not Me, It’s You
“Righteous. Loved. Holy. Blameless.” If you follow Jesus as King, then that is who God says you are! But if we’re honest, there’s a gaping divide between what God says about me and what I see in me. And bridging that divide seems impossible. Luckily, God has given us what we need to close the gap between who we feel like we are and who He says we are.
Part 3
Whatchamacallit
Often we let a “what” define us instead of a “Who.” Rather than listening to who God says we are, we follow the “whats” for our identity: what we experience, what they said, what we think. But the fact is that who I am is more important than what I experience. And when I have my identity set by God, I don’t shift and shake with the changing circumstances in my life.
Part 4
The Good Infection
C.S. Lewis wrote in his classic work, Mere Christianity, “Jesus came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has—by what I call ‘good infection.’ Every Christian is to become a little Christ.” That is exactly what God has in mind for each of us—to become like Jesus. So how do we know if we’re catching the good infection?