A New Identity
Colossians 3:1–17
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Last week, I spent an introverted evening, while Josh was in class, reliving my childhood by watching The Princess Diaries. If you’ve never seen it, you should make it your top priority to watch it this week!. In this movie (bonus points to you if you’ve read the book), sixteen-year-old Mia Thermopolis (played by Anne Hathaway) gets an unexpected visit from her grandmother who she has never met. She quickly learns that her grandmother is the queen of Genovia (a fictitious country between France and Spain), and Mia is the heir to the throne. She must decide if she will renounce her title or accept her birthright as princess of Genovia.
As Mia leans into her new identity as a princess, she is given new clothes and a new hairstyle. She is not only transformed on the outside; through lessons from her grandmother, she goes from being a shy awkward teenager to an eloquently outspoken royal poised princess.
However, before she officially accepts her position as princess, she experiences doubt. She doubts if she is capable, if she is qualified, if she should leave behind her life in San Francisco. Ultimately, she doubts her true identity. But then the head of her grandmother’s security, Joe (who serves as a father figure to Mia) says to her, “No one can quit being who they are, not even a princess. You can refuse the job, but you are a princess by birth.”
Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are a new creation. You have been given a new identity as an heir with Christ. Now, your training begins. Cast aside your old self—your sin, your shame; this has been put to death by the one who conquered death itself—Jesus (vv. 5–9).
And we put on our new identity. Like Mia questioning what it meant for her to be a princess, an heir to the throne of Genovia, what does this new identity look like for us? It means choosing to become more Christ-like, or to bear the image of God (v. 10). We do this by choosing compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, and above all, love.
This is a daunting task. Ultimately, we will fail because it's easy to turn back to our old identity; its comfortable and familiar. We’ll doubt the new identity that has been set before us. But just like Mia, we cannot quit who we really are if we have accepted the gift freely bestowed upon us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Not even our sin can keep us from this gift. We can refuse the gift, but either way, you bear the image of God—nothing can change that. So step up. Put on your new identity and continue on in your training to be more like Christ.
