Your True Self

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. (Eph. 4: 22-24) 

Before I believed and received Christ into my heart I considered ideas such as Jesus’ resurrection from the dead to be foolishness. I thought that sense perception and the reasoning we do from what we perceive is the only source of knowledge. I did not consider revelation from God to be a viable alternative. I did not have the Spirit and “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor.2: 14-15). This left me with a problem.

It was fashionable back in the ‘60's to try to “find your identity” or “be true to yourself,” and that meant there really is a “true you” to be found. But even with the help of a secular psychologist who was no better than I at discerning spiritual things, I could not find my true self. All I could find was behavior patterns that were the product of my heredity and environment. I learned that I was “codependent,” which means that I was so busy trying to be accepted by others and get their approval I had no idea who I was! I was allowing other people to be my judge!

All that changed when I received Christ into my heart and He gave me spiritual life. I began to accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, and the sweetest thing I learned was that I was created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Without Christ in my heart I was being corrupted by deceitful desires; I was trying to be conformed to what others thought I should be. But now I know that I am God’s workmanship and He has a unique purpose for my life. I am no longer subject to any person’s judgment because the Spirit is my teacher; He knows what I was created for, other people do not. “For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2: 16). As I take captive the thoughts and attitudes of my mind and make them obedient to Christ, I am putting on my true self. I have found my identity…it is in Christ!