You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.     Ephesians 4:22-24 HCSB

The United States Army had a slogan that said, “Be all you can be”. If you need a first responder, would you want someone who is sort of trained or sort of committed to the job? When you need a first responder or the military, you want the best of the best. You want those who are well trained and ready for whatever comes their way and trained do whatever is needed to get the job done.

As we go through this temporary life on earth, shouldn’t we strive to be the best at whatever we do? To be the best Christian we can be, we must let go of our old, corrupted self, be renewed in the spirit and put on our new self, created in God’s likeness.

God doesn’t honor our half-hearted commitment. He wants our best. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind in Matthew 22:37. In Proverbs 3:5-6 we are told to “Trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not to rely on our own understanding.”

Nowhere in the Bible does it say to trust God partially or halfheartedly. The great thing about the Bible is, if we study the Bible and trust God with all our heart, we can be the best at whatever we do.

There are instructions for being a good spouse, a good employer, a good worker, a good church member and a good person.

But like all instructions, if we don’t study them and follow them, we will fall short. We are born sinners in need of a Savior. David said in Psalm 51:5, “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” This doesn’t mean the conception was sinful, it simply means we are born with a propensity to sin. Romans 3:23 says we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.

So, what hope is there? Well, I’m glad you asked. Our hope is found in our Lord Jesus Christ. We can accept the free gift of salvation (John 3:16, Romans 6:23).

Many of us hold on to our past. We hold on to past hurts, regrets and sinful behavior. We have our hands so full holding on to these things, we just can’t grab hold of a new life in Christ.

I have never endured military training, but I can tell you that in training for law enforcement, you have to give your all. You have to be ready for whatever they throw at you because that’s how the job is. You never know what you will face. And just when you think you have seen it all, you are surprised again. They must prepare you to deal with whatever comes your way. You can’t do that by being preoccupied by your past or what is going on in civilian life. We are told in 2 Timothy 2:4 that no soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter.

Let go of your old sinful self, devote yourself to Christ, and prepare for service and whatever He sends your way.

If you want to be the best you can be, surrender your life to Christ. Devote yourself to Him wholeheartedly. Study His word and follow the instructions found in there. Live according to these instructions.

If you strive to be the best Christian you can be, you will also be the best at whatever else you do.

Have a great day!