Ephesians 4:20-24 But that is not the way you learned Christ!– (21) assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, (22) to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, (23) and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, (24) and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in his book The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Paul writes to us that living the old way of life is not how we have learned when we became a follower of Christ. To follow after Christ means we are to come to the cross and die to our own desires, passions, and goals. We are to turn from our sin and turn toward Christ, seeking after His desires in all areas of our life. In order to do that we need to know the Word of God and we need to know what He desires. Now, when I think about that from a worldly perspective, it seems like being a Christian would be a miserable existence having to forget about the things you want to do and the dreams you want to achieve. But just the opposite is true.

Assuming that you have heard about Christ and were taught in him, the truth of Jesus is in you to give you the power to abandon the old ways of your former life. When we renew our minds and put on our new self, we take on the likeness of God himself. As believers who are now holy and blameless through the forgiveness of our sins, we think differently, dream differently, and pursue different goals. God now becomes our ultimate desire and as we seek him he grants us the desires of our heart. (psalm 37:4)

Over the last several years I have asked God to show me great and mighty things. I wanted to stop holding tight to the things of this world that moss and rust will destroy and thieves will break in and steal, and seek after the things of God. My desires, over the years have gone from self to others. They moved from comfort and secure to challenging and uncertain. And in it all I would say they are richer and more satisfying than any material item or comfort has ever brought me. There are certainly challenges that come from putting off my old self and the deceitful desires… but the challenges are rewarded with bigger faith, greater witness of the hand of God working in my life and others, and the knowledge that we are working for eternal glory rather than worldly comfort.

God is so good to us when we move in a direction toward looking more and more like Christ. Even though we need to put off our old self, the putting on of Christ is far superior to anything we could be without Him.