Properly Labeled

Read

2 Corinthians 5:16–17

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

What it is speaking to me

People like labels. I recently had to take a bunch of personality tests for a class I’m taking—DISC, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, PPK, etc. Perhaps you’ve taken these before for fun or during a job interview. Potential recruiters are looking for simple labels that explain who you are in a general sense. It strikes me as a friendlier version of what we did when we were kids in school. We labeled each other too—the redhead, shorty, ogre (a real nickname of a friend), shorts, Nike boy—whatever defining feature that made that label stick.

If we reduce labels to purely cosmetic things like we did in school—or silly things like personality tests—labels don’t have much power. But some labels can carry a punch: failure, loser, troublemaker, bad kid, toxic, emotional, crazy, psycho, drunk, drug addict. I hope you’ve never been labeled with these things—but maybe you have. Maybe you’ve even labeled yourself that way.

The church in Corinth was made up of people like us, who had come out of the world with all sorts of labels and backgrounds. Paul is telling this new church that what had come before—their past labels—was irrelevant. We now have a new label: Christian. Child of God. Son or daughter of the Most High. That is a powerful label, and it’s one that replaces any previous label we carried around.

If you are a believer, lets make sure we are properly labeled. Because our past labels are gone. "Old things have passed away; behold, new things have come."

What is it saying to you?

Do you have a label from your past that you have not let go of?

Why?

What label has God given you that matters the most to you?

What are we going to do about it?

Today, decide that you refuse to be defined by a past failure, current weakness, or societal label. Embrace your status as a new creation in Christ—it is the only label that truly matters.