by Shannon Caughey

I remember the excitement of receiving new uniforms as a high school athlete. Our school had limited funds, so uniforms were used for multiple years—basically until they were worn out and looking spent. When our coach handed us brand-new uniforms the day before our first game, it energized us. We felt like a new and different team.

Multiple times in Colossians Paul uses the term “new” in his descriptions of who we are and what we’re about as followers of Christ. If you have put your trust in Jesus, you are a new you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” This “new you” means you are a “new coach.” You are a new and different coach than you were before surrendering your life in faith to Christ.

In this series of devotions, we’ve already discussed two aspects of our newness as Christ’s followers: our new life and new perspective. Continuing in Colossians 3, Paul speaks to another dimension—our “new self”:

“⁵ Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry… ⁸ But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.”

Life in Jesus is like getting rid of an old uniform (“put off the old self with its practices”) and eagerly donning a new uniform (“put on the new self… being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator”). Through faith in Jesus, we are united to his death on the cross and to his resurrection to new life (Col. 3:1). This enables us to “put to death what belongs to [our] earthly nature” (v. 5)—the sinful practices of the old self: who we were before being rescued by Jesus from our sin. Instead, we now live according to our new self in Christ. We increasingly understand who God intends for us to be as those created in his image (Genesis 1:27).

Paul goes on to give concrete examples of what our new self looks like: “¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.” Before coming to Christ, our life may have been characterized by sins like impurity, lust, greed, anger, and filthy language. As those who have been made new by Jesus, our life is now to be defined by qualities such as compassion, kindness, humility, patience, and forgiveness.

How does this “uniform exchange” happen in your life? It’s a combination of embracing the new identity Jesus gives you through his gracious work and making intentional choices based on your new identity. First, understand who you are because of what Jesus has done. When you became a coach, you realized you could no longer think and act like who you were previously: a player or a fan. You must now embrace your identity as “Coach”: understanding and putting into practice how effective coaches think and act. Similarly, your identity is now defined by Christ, not by who you were before responding in faith to Jesus. You must embrace this Christ-centered identity, understanding and putting into practice how the Lord designed his followers to think and act.

Second, make intentional choices based on your “new self.” You daily choose whether you will act according to your identity in Christ or according to an “old self” identity. For example, maybe before you came to Christ your temper was out of control or you regularly used bad language. Now by the Lord’s grace and strength you can instead choose what honors him. Your thought process is, “Because who I am is defined by Jesus, I want to exercise patience rather than losing my temper. I want to speak words that reflect his holiness rather than profane words that contradict who Jesus is and what he’s about.” 

As a follower of Christ, you are no longer your old self. In the coaching context and in your life more broadly, remember the true identity of your new self: who you are in Jesus. Choose the actions that reflect Jesus because he is now the core of who you are. Be the new you and the new coach that Jesus made it possible for you to be.

For reflection: Ask God to help you understand and embrace more fully your new self—your true identity in Christ. Confess any ways you have continued to act according to your old self. Commit to choosing to live out the Christ-honoring qualities of your new self.