It’s a universal fact for Christians that being baptised means admitting yourself a sinner and accepting Jesus Christ as our savior. That’s what I believe and was told when I first converted to Jesus.
However, the truth is that although I bore this idea in mind, I still lived my old life for quite a long time, without realizing that I was following my old nature and that I was controlled by sin.
The elephant in the room
I did whatever would satisfy my body as usual. I slept in on weekends and persuaded myself that I deserved a “good rest”. I overate when I was already full. I lingered on my phone when it was time to read the Bible.
Nevertheless, as time went by, I found that I wasn’t really relaxed from a whole-morning sleep. And I kept putting on weight due to unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise. To make things worse, I was making excuses for not accomplishing the Bible reading plan.
In a word, the consequence was that both of my physical health and spiritual growth were spoiled!
The silly things was that I was aware of the consequences but hardly made any changes. Sin was like the elephant in the house and I intentionally ignored it. I assumed that the gracious God would love me no matter what. Thank Goodness, God doesn’t think so!
Rule over sin
After some time, I began to realise that I was in a spiritual war, for I was doing what I hated to do, not what I wanted to do. It was not until I read Romans 8, versus 7 that I determined to make a difference. As it has been put: those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
What a huge mistake that I made before! I used to believe that I could inherit the kingdom of God with my sin! But the truth is that I could never live in peace with sin. It’s a life-and-death battle, for sin is crouching at my door and I must rule over it!
Thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord! Changes happened faster than I expected. I used to think that I would enjoy my old life and would live the rest of my life the same way. However, through prayer and constant fellowship with Jesus Christ, I have been renewed by God every day during the past three weeks.
Starting from the end of March, I began to exercise and kept a diet. Moreover, I scheduled and ensured at least half an hour Bible reading per day. To be honest, it was truly hard at the very beginning! During the first few days, my body was easily exhausted when exercising; my stomach was looking for food when it found a chance; and my mind was wondering about other things when reading the Bible.
Fortunately, after three-week persistence, my appetite is now adapted to normal amount of food, and my body is accustomed to exercise. Furthermore, my heart and my mind desire God’s words more now!
Put on the new self
The good news is that old self is starting to peel off from me and I love the new look of myself!
With exercise and diet, I’m more used to healthy food and I can now rise early in the morning. More importantly, I enjoy devoting myself in prayer and in God’s words. I feel that my relationship with God has come closer every time after I have studied His words. This new life is full of blessing!
I never want to go back to the old self again! For the old self is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. “To be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” ( Ephesians 4:22-24)
May every Christian overcome their old nature and live a holy life in Jesus Christ!
Cheng Xingyi (known as Cindy) was born and brought up in central China. Cindy enjoys travelling and reading history books. Cindy is inspired by talking with local people when travelling abroad experiencing different parts of the world, as well as herself.
Cheng Xingyi's previous articles may be found at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/cindy-cheng.html