You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. – Psalm 139:13-14 NLT
God is infinitely creative. We bear witness to this through the beauty and diversity of the natural world, but even more so through the beauty and diversity of human beings. God never makes two people exactly the same; even identical twins have subtle differences that make them unique. And this is by design! Each of us is created with love, care, and a specific purpose that we’re meant to fulfill.
Taking Off the Old, Putting On the New
When we accept Christ and are baptized into new life, our pasts are forgotten, our sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), and our names are forever recorded in Christ’s Book of Life (Revelation 3:5).
Such a glorious demonstration of mercy prompts us to, as the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:22, “throw off [our] old sinful nature and [our] former way of life” (NLT). Our pasts no longer define us. We are completely new creations. Yet therein lies the tension of living in God’s already-but-not-yet Kingdom: the old you is gone, but while you’re on this side of eternity, you still must guard against putting that sin nature back on—whether consciously or subconsciously.
How do we do this? Paul tells us in the next couple verses: “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:23-24 NLT). When we put on our new nature, we fully embody our identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters. We continually let the Holy Spirit renew our minds (Romans 12:2), forming us more and more into His image day by day.
But…Can I Still Be Me?
Which brings us back to the opening sentiment of this article. God is infinitely creative; He made us unique on purpose. He doesn’t want us to throw off our old selves so that we all start looking like Christ-loving automatons with the same personalities, interests, desires, and callings.
There are some callings that are universal to all believers. To love our neighbors (Mark 12:31), to make disciples (Matthew 28:19), to obey God’s good commandments (John 14:21). But beyond that, our personalities are still our own. In fact, the presence of Jesus in our hearts and the Spirit’s continual renewing of our minds should make us more ourselves. That is to say, more how God designed us to be, without the negative influences of the world and our own misguided thoughts about ourselves.
There are certain elements of you that will never be replicated in any other person on earth. God doesn’t want to dim that one-of-a-kind light—He wants to use it for His glory! For example, if you had a bubbly, outgoing personality before you met Jesus; if you had a heart for children or the elderly; if you loved cooking…those gifts can be used to serve God and build His Kingdom in even more powerful ways now that you do know Jesus.
A Note on Personal Conviction
Maybe you’re wondering about certain parts of your personality or life that seem relatively harmless, but you’re not sure if they’re part of the sin nature that you need to let go of. For example, maybe you have a particularly quirky sense of style, or enjoy listening to a certain type of music, or you have a close group of non-Christian friends.
None of those things necessarily has to change. Making the decision about what can stay and what has to go is a matter of examining your heart and underlying motivations, and holding those things up to the Bible to test whether they’re in contradiction to (or a distraction from) God’s standard for holy living.
If the answer is yes, you need to let that thing go and trust that God has something greater in store. If the answer is no, and you don’t feel a sense of personal conviction that you need to let it go, then rest in the freedom and grace God has given you to still be you.
God loves you so much, and He wants you to experience all the benefits of new life in Him—while also living into the beautiful, unique identity He created you with.
