There once was a cantankerous middle-aged woman who griped and complained constantly. She was especially hard on her husband. The poor fellow couldn’t seem to ever do anything right.

This woman began attending church with a friend and decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Everyone rejoiced at her baptism. They were delighted that she had been converted.

However, her family was disappointed to see that there was very little change in her disposition. The woman was just as bitter and critical as she had been before. One day her husband remarked to a close friend, “I don’t mind her being born again, but why did she have to come back as herself?”

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”—2 Corinthians 5:17.

In what ways have you changed since you became a follower of Jesus?