“When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!”2 Corinthians 5:17(TLB)
You’ve probably heard the phrase: “The spirit of Christmas is giving.” But the spirit of Christmas is not actually giving. It’s receiving God’s gift to you.
Once you receive the gift of salvation through Jesus, God has other things in store for you. Another gift he wants to give you this Christmas is the gift of a new identity.
One of the fastest growing crimes in the world today is identity theft. But the truth is that we’ve all had our identity stolen. Sometimes it’s stolen by your parents who wanted you to be something that was at odds with God’s plans for you. Sometimes it’s stolen by culture and your peers and the pressure to conform rather than being who God designed you to be.
Most people get their identity from their work, their relationships, or their possessions. But you should never base your identity on something you can lose, like your career or your home or even another person.
The only thing that can’t be taken away is God’s love for you. So if you want to have a new, true, and permanent identity, you must receive it from God and base it on the fact that you are deeply and unconditionally loved by him.
The Living Bible paraphrase says, “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Accepting God’s love for you through Jesus gives you a new identity. It doesn’t mean you stop sinning. It means you’re not identified with your sin or your past or your failures anymore. You are identified with Christ. You are a child of God!
The starting point of a new identity is to stop seeing yourself the way everybody else sees you. You’ve got to start seeing yourself the way God sees you. You do that by regularly reading and studying God’s Word.
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31-32 NLT).
There is freedom in knowing how capable, how accepted, how usable, how blessable, and how loved you are in Christ. It’s the greatest gift you’ll ever receive.
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California with campuses in major cities around the world. He is the author of The Purpose Driven Life, which has been translated into 90 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. You can listen to his daily radio broadcast at PastorRick.com.
