Devotion from Extravagant Mercy, written by M. Craig Barnes

For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. – Ephesians 2:10

After a while you get tired of self-improvement programs. You stop trying new diets. You give up looking for the big business deal. You let the membership to the health club expire. Maybe you even stop trying to be a better follower of Christ. “I am what I am,” You think, “And people are just going to have to accept that.” Yet if your life is anything less than a reflection of Jesus Christ then you’re pretending to be something less than who you really are.

Our true identities are given to us by God. Paul tells us that we are what God has made us, and God did not make us angry, hurt or mean. God created us in Christ Jesus for good works. Paul didn’t tell us that so we could keep striving to improve ourselves. We can’t recreate our lives. But God can. In Christ Jesus that is exactly what he is doing – turning you into a new creation.

The closer you draw to Jesus, the more you will notice wonderful changes in your life. It is not unlike the changes that happen to people who spend their lives in love. Over the years they shape and mold each other. Sometimes, they even start to look like each other. That’s because being in love, especially with Jesus, brings out the best in you.