The Transition: Making Your Life a Reflection of Jesus (Sanctification)

*All verses can be found in the footnotes

So, you’ve leaped to give your life to Jesus Christ. Congratulations, but now what? Reflecting, I felt that the transition happened slowly, but it happens fast. Within three months, I transitioned out of the friendship that no longer reflected the person I was becoming, I stopped getting drunk, and I worked to stop cussing. These were big things for me; I had an identity rooted in my ability to drink too much I was nervous about finding a new community for myself. I feared how the friends I had before I was saved would perceive me now that I was different. I feared how people would start treating me. These were fears that I had before becoming a follower of Christ, and some of the reasons I ran for so long.

Even through all those fears, I began doing bible studies on the mornings of my off days and watching a sermon on the days I worked, and overall increasing the time I spent with the Lord. I had this strong desire to get to know Jesus for myself and learn his voice. I wanted to read the bible for myself so that I was able to form my own relationship with Jesus that wasn’t through other people. Though I grew up in the church, I was young and did not fully understand what it truly was to be a Christian. I always looked at Christianity as a religion, a set of rules to follow, but that is not what it is. Christianity is a relationship between you and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The more you seek him in exchange, the more you will start to be sanctified. To be sanctified is to be made new through Jesus Christ; it is a lifelong process of growing in holiness and becoming more like Jesus (Philippians 1:6). This involves leaving behind old friends, lifestyle choices, clothing choices, and mental patterns.

Yes, it will hurt to leave these things behind, but something will be easier to leave than others. The question you might be having is, if I don’t want to give up these things, and they made me sad to turn away from, why would I want to stop? And the answer is simple: if you are serious about getting closer to God and following his commands, these things only become blockages to your closeness to God. It will be trial-and-error time for those first few months or years. But the Lord will begin to change the desires of your heart to reflect his own (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

For me personally, I used to love getting drunk all the time; it was what I did every time I got together with my friends. What I started to notice was that every time I got drunk after giving my life to God, I felt so far away from him. I would repent for days and felt shame. So, I compromised I learned my limits. What could I drink without becoming drunk? But even then, I still felt far from God when I drank to be tipsy. Because you cannot maintain a sober mind while being tipsy, and to be a follower of Christ is to remain in a sober mind (1 Peter 5:8), I cut my drinking back even more. By this time, the friends I was hanging out with began to fall off, and the times between drinking became longer and longer. During your transition, God might call you away from something for a time to gain perspective. I now drink rarely, and most of the time, I do not exceed one drink. I set better boundaries around my drinking, I mostly drink wine and save my favorite cocktails for special occasions, and I no longer take shots.

Not everyone’s sanctification process will look the same or be the same. This is a key lesson to learn early in your walk with Christ. We were all made uniquely in his sight. We all struggle with different things on different levels, and learning not to compare ourselves to our fellow brothers and sisters will allow us to focus on the path God has set before us (1 Corinthians 12:15-20)

During this time, I encourage you to keep close to God (Psalm 46:10). Create a realistic schedule that works for you so that you can get your daily bread. This can be watching a sermon, doing devotionals, personal Bible studies, or praying. In time, you will end up doing all these things consistently, but for now, as babes in Christ, your main goal should be to build your relationship with the Lord by spending time with him through his word and prayer.

It is important to remember that there is no emotion too big for our God to handle and nothing he will not forgive you for (Romans 8:1). The biggest factor that stands in the way of people being true followers of Christ is the idea that you must be perfect to go before him. That is not true. He will take you in whatever form or state you are in; our God is Love (Isaiah 1:18-20 & 1 John 4:8-9). What stops people from going to him is not their lack of faith that he has forgiven them, but their inability to forgive themselves. As babes in Christ, you will mess up. You might go back into your past life, but do not let that stop you. I urge you to make Jesus Christ your best friend, the person you tell your whole life to, your every secret, and share all your failures and successes with. Our God is a healer, and he loves the broken-hearted. Put your faith and trust in the Lord and watch how he moves through and around you (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 147:3, Matthew 11:28-30).

Ezekiel 36:26-27: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

1 Peter 5:8: Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Corinthians 12:15-20:If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Romans 8:1:There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 1:18-20: “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.19 If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land;20but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

1 John 4:8-9: 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

Psalm 34:18:The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 147:3: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Matthew 11:28-30: 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”