But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV

We recently celebrated Christmas, remembering that Jesus came to earth from heaven to be born as a baby. Jesus grew to become a man. Around age 30 he began his ministry in Israel. Three short years later, Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Jesus is a gift to all of us. If we accept his gift of salvation, we become new creations spiritually. As this new year begins, let's remind ourselves what this new life brings.

Our sins are forgiven. In [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7 NIV). Often, people have trouble forgiving themselves for sinning. If God forgives us, we should, too.

We are children of God. To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12 NIV). We may be estranged from our family or feel we don’t fit in. We are now part of God’s family where we are always accepted.

Jesus set us free. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36 NIV). We no longer have to stress ourselves out trying to be perfect. No one can accomplish that anyway. 

We are not condemned by God. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1 NIV). When we sin (which we will), we don’t need to feel overly guilty and beat ourselves up because we made a mistake. God knows we are learning, and he sees us as forgiven.

This list contains only a few of the gifts we receive upon knowing Jesus. How many others can you find?

Terri Vardeman