When people talk about becoming ‘the best version of themselves’, what exactly do they mean? Do they mean that they are going to replace their current self with version 2.0 of themselves? Well, not exactly. They simply mean that who they will be in the years to come should be better than the person they are today. Do you want to become the best version of yourself? Here is how.

The journey to becoming the best version of yourself begins with accepting Jesus as your personal savior. Second Corinthians 5:17 explains the transformation, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” You heard that correctly. When you accept Jesus as your personal savior, you become a new person. All your former sins are forgiven, and your old life is forgotten. You are born again. Now, many of you are probably saying, been there, done that! However, accepting Jesus as your personal savior is not enough to become the best version of yourself because you still must live in this sinful world. But not to worry, you can continue your journey to becoming the best version of yourself by nurturing your relationship with Jesus.

There are several steps that you can take to nurture your relationship with Jesus, but I will only focus on three of these steps. The first step is repenting and seeking forgiveness daily. I know you have already repented, and your sins have already been forgiven when you accepted Jesus as your personal savior, but repentance and forgiveness are not a one-time occurrence, thankfully. We sin daily in our thoughts and actions. As a result, repenting and seeking forgiveness should be part of our daily routine, and remember repentance means a turn or change in direction. So, if you were going north, after repenting, you should go south, in the opposite direction. This is God’s promise to those who repent and seek forgiveness, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The second step is obeying the word of God. Jesus says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27, NIV). To become the best version of yourself, you must have a foundation in obedience. Without such a foundation, you will become like the foolish builder, and eventually, you will reject Jesus as your personal savior because in essence, disobedience equals rejection, and without Jesus, it is impossible to truly become the best version of yourself.

The third step is yielding to the Holy Spirit so that it can completely transform you, thus producing the fruit of the spirit in you. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). If you possess these attributes, you are well on your way to becoming the best version of yourself.

Ultimately, becoming the best version of yourself begins and ends with having Jesus in your life. Here is what Jesus says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:4-8).