At the end this month, my husband and I will be married for 6 years. My name has long been changed and we have moved several times, yet, every now and then I will still get something in the mail that has my maiden name on it. It’s usually some subscription service that I’ve long discontinued and it’s always something along the lines of “We miss you; we want you back! Save X-amount when you restore your account.” It’s probably something embarrassingly expensive that I never should have gotten into in the first place, but they try to reel me in with the limited time offer of “savings” or additional benefits. 

The world calls you by your old name and tries to get you reinterested in places you had no business being in the first place. The world tries to convince you that you are “missing out” if you choose not to be involved. The world tries to woo you with suspiciously convenient too-good-to-be-true benefits at a price that ends up being much higher than it initially seems. 

Romans 6:21-23 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We now have a new name and a new address! Return that mail back to sender because they no longer live here! The old identity is cast away and we get to take on our new identity in Christ. As God’s children, not only do we belong at the Father’s house, but we have a place prepared at His table because He already anticipated protecting us and providing for us. Our heavenly benefits far surpass the maximum satisfaction that this world can offer. These benefits are eternal; there is no time limit, and the price was already paid on our behalf. How can we possibly miss out on anything when we have unlimited access to the One who has authority over all things?

Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!