Sermon Central
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Identification With ...
Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Oct 19, 2008 (message contributor)
Identification with Christ
The story has been told of a girl who was the daughter of one of the royal families of Europe, but had a big nose that in her eyes destroyed her beauty and resulted in her seeing herself as an ugly person. Finally her family hired a famous plastic surgeon to change the contour of the girl’s nose. He did his work, and there came the moment when they took the bandages off and the girl could see the results. The doctor saw that the operation had been a total success. All the ugly contours were gone. Her nose was different. When the incisions healed and the redness disappeared, she would be a beautiful girl. He held up a mirror for the girl to see, but so deeply embedded was the girl’s image of herself that when she saw herself in the mirror, she couldn’t see any change. She broke into tears and cried out, “Oh, I knew it wouldn’t work!”
It took six months before the girl would accept the fact that she was indeed an attractive person, and it wasn’t until she had accepted this fact that her self-image and behavior began to change accordingly. So it is with those who are “in Christ.” We must accept our new identity before we will change. (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching. Includes indexes. (201). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
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