Your New Face

In mid-August, most news outlets carried a story about an amazing medical marvel. A woman who had been mauled by a friend's chimpanzee so badly that her face was completely disfigured had been given a full face transplant.  Before the transplant, she wore a cloth over her face to cover up the disfigurement of her face. Now she has an almost completely normal looking face, but it looks nothing like it did before the attack.

Can you imagine receiving an entirely new face?

We are so accustomed to identifying ourselves by our own appearance that even a haircut can make us look twice in the mirror to make sure we are looking at ourselves and not someone else.  It would be quite shocking to see a brand new face when you looked in the mirror!

You may not realize it, but if you are a Christian, you have already received a complete face transplant. Sin had disfigured your soul beyond recognition, and if you're like most people, you tried to cover it up as much as possible so that others didn't see it. But now, Christ has redefined your identity and you are made completely new (2 Cor. 5:17).

Are you getting adjusted to your new face?

You have a beautiful new identity, but are you living like the saint that God has turned you into? It’s not a matter of acting like something you are not, because God has made you holy and redefined your identity. When we sin, we are actually breaking with our new identity that Christ bought for us with his blood.

Be who you are.  Be loving. Be generous. Be pure. Be kind. Be courageous. Be full of faith.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” -- Ephesians 5:8

- This blog was written by Josh Cummings for the Radical Series. Josh is the Technical Director at Elim Gospel Church.