Athlete Identity Crisis: 30 Days to Understanding Your Identity in ChristNäide

A New Creation

My high school team was pretty good. We were often the top team in the state and nationally ranked. We trained hard and ran a lot of miles. When I arrived at college, I remember the culture shock from the first few weeks of training under a new coach. His system was vastly different from the one I was used to back in high school.

“We do things a little differently than you’re used to.”

If you are a Christian athlete, you have been spiritually reborn and placed on a new team. Your identity in Christ is one of radical transformation: you are a new creation. You’ve switched teams, now living and playing under the Lordship of Christ. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul explains, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

This means that when you surrender your life to Jesus, you undergo a fundamental, spiritual rebirth.

You begin to do things a little differently than you’re used to!

Why? Because the "old has passed away"—the old motivations, the old shame, the old striving for self-glory—and "the new has come"—a new identity, a new purpose, and new capabilities, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This transformation isn't about becoming perfect overnight, but about a daily process of aligning your heart with God's will and repenting when you fall short.

Practically, embracing your identity as a new creation means choosing to live out of your new self, not your old one. It means actively putting to death the idols of self-centeredness, pride, and performance-based identity. It may involve asking entirely new questions, like: "Who might God want me to reach where I am right now?"

You are not just an athlete, you are a new creation, equipped and empowered to bring God glory and impact lives for His kingdom.

Questions to Consider: What aspects of your "old self" (e.g., self-centered motivations, fears, insecurities) still try to influence your behavior as an athlete? How does continually embracing your identity as a "new creation" in Christ empower you to shed these old patterns and live out your new purpose?