Renewal and Transformation

Isn't "renewal" a beautiful word?

"We just renewed our lease!"
"This skin cream will promote cell renewal!"
"He wants to renew our vows (in Hawaii)!"

Christians are told that, when we enter into a forever relationship with Jesus Christ, we become a "new creation".  And, we do!  Forever!

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

2 Cor. 5:17 (NKJV)

The problem is --- all things don't seem to stay that way, do they?  We get knocked and slammed around by circumstances "beyond our control" or by our own sinful choices.  We feel like the child who went out to play in her Sunday dress, fell into the mud and then anxiously, guiltily sought out her mother to show her the mess.  We desperately want to experience that "newness" again.  We long for the beauty that is renewal!

Paul speaks of this in Romans 12:2 (NET).  Here, he shows us Christians who are slogging through the "nasty now and now" how to get renewed.

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. 2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

We discussed the first step to renewal in yesterday's blog post.  In a nutshell, the first step was to yield our bodies to God, to exercise our faith by yielding our will in that regard, by laying our fleshly desires down on the altar of sacrifice.  But, that won't totally accomplish the beautiful spiritual renewal spoken of here.  How do we complete the process?

We do it by nurturing the relationship.

I have a friend I see about once every month or so.  We make an appointment to have breakfast together.  It's great!  We spend the time eating bagels at The Frog and catching up.  She's probably my oldest friend.  And while we are very good friends, we are not intimate friends.  While we say we are "family", it's not the same as talking with her on a daily basis and sharing with each other about the true ups and downs of our lives, supporting each other, showing love to each other.

I have another friend who keeps saying, "Let's get together and do lunch!"  But, it never happens. Her intentions are good, I think....But, again, actions speak louder than words.

At Christmastime, Hubster and I send out about 150 Christmas cards to our friends.  Some of them, we have not seen in years!  We are still friends, but that's about all we do to grow those friendships, due to distance, mainly.

By contrast, another friend has a lifelong friend who IS truly "like family".  They speak on the phone or text on the phone every, single day.  They help each other in times of trouble and care for each other in a deep way.  They nurture their relationship.

Now, I want you to think of your relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.  Which of the scenarios described above characterizes it?  God hasn't gone anywhere. He is not separated from us by physical distance. He's still there, eagerly looking for more than a "Christmas card".

The way we deepen that relationship, achieve that blessed renewal is by spending time with Him.  I'm not talking about going to a church service and sitting there, disengaged, thinking about 1000 other things while your hiney warms a pew.  No, I'm talking about getting into God's Word every day, learning more about Him.

Some of you may argue with me that prayer is pre-eminent here.  I completely agree that prayer is important, but Bible study is even more important.  Why?  Because the more you learn about Him, the more you will want to talk with Him in prayer.  Otherwise, our prayers tend to be merely "gimme sessions".  He speaks to us in our spirits and minds as we read His word, and it cleanses/renews us!

25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word,27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NET)

Remember the little girl in her dirty Sunday dress?  The word of God washes us and renews our minds.  When we read about Him and His plans for us, for this world, our will is brought more into alignment with His.  We then long to talk with Him in prayer.  It is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit how - - - He uses first Bible study and then prayer to change us.

What mama just leaves her child nasty?  What mama just lets her baby lie around in its poop or would say to that little girl, "Well, now you've done it; you can just wear it for a while."  God is not like that!  He longs for us, deeply desiring to transform us, to mold us more into the likeness of His Son, Jesus!

When we move closer to God in this way, it means simultaneously moving away from the ways of this world.  The two - - the world and God - - are at odds with each other.  Paul warns us to not allow ourselves to be pressed into the mold the world casts for us.  A "moving toward" involves a "moving away."  Don't think for a moment that you can embrace the ways of this sinful, ungodly world and also take hold of what God has for you.

Diving deep into God's word, nurturing our relationship with our Savior, reveals to us just how antithetical to God the world's views are.  This world has been blinded, by the evil one, to the ways of God.  When you literally "see things God's way", you can clearly see this dichotomy.

We all must choose, Christians, whether we are going to head toward renewal and transformation, as the pupa becomes the butterfly, or whether we are going to walk around in our mud-stained clothes. Paul issues an imperative, because this beautiful transformation involves willful obedience on our part.  It's yours, if you choose it.  What will your choice be?

Father, thank you that, although my sins were as red as blood spilled in anger, Your most precious Son washed them "whiter than snow".  I hate my sin, but I long to hate it even more, to hate it with Your righteous hatred of it. Teach me to love what You love and to hate what You hate. Teach me to love people, all people, because it was for all of us hopelessly stained sinners that You gave Your most beloved Son as a ransom.  I don't want to walk around in the filth I accumulate every day, the stain this world puts on me.  Wash me, Lord!  Renew me and fill me ever more deeply with Your Spirit.  Transform me into the beautiful Bride You always intended for me to become.  In Jesus' name, amen.

A Most Extreme Giving

Self-denial.  It's not a fun thing.  It is a sacrifice.  Have you ever sacrificed greatly for someone else? Perhaps it was a sacrifice of your money or time, to care for a dying relative.  Perhaps it was the decision to become a stay-at-home mom, which meant one of the cars would have to be sold. Love is demonstrated by sacrifice, the most extreme form of giving.

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. 2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. 

Romans 12:1-2 (NET)

If you are looking for a great definition of the "resplendent walk with Christ", this is it.

Warren Wiersbe1 points out that the "therefore" which begins this chapter is the fourth one in the book of Romans.  My pastor always says that when you see a "therefore", you need to investigate what it is there for.  :)  In this case, because of all that has been elaborated on earlier, because of God's amazing grace, we are urged, "exhorted" is the older English word, to dedicate our lives (after our salvation decision) to God.  In the book of Philippians (2:12), Paul puts it like this:  "work out your own salvation with reverence and awe."

What does this outworking of our already settled salvation look like?  What does it involve?

First of all, it involves the laying down of our bodies on the altar of sacrifice.  So often we are tempted, even after our initial salvation decision, to follow the urges of our bodies, to lavish our time and resources on them to focus more on outward beauty or physical pleasure than on the inner beauty of the soul.  At those times, the truth of our bodies being the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 6:19-20) flies completely out the window.   In Romans 6:13 Paul speaks of how our bodies must be yielded to God so that He can use them as "instruments of righteousness".  This is a choice, a sacrifice, each Christian must make every day, and truly, several times a day if you are like me, who never met a Moon Pie she didn't like...

Recently, a young Christian couple I know got married.  They were both virgins when they said their vows.  Despite their extreme attraction to each other, they had waited.  They had presented their bodies a living sacrifice to God, and to each other.  The sad thing about this story is that they could name NONE of their contemporaries who had done the same, nominal Christians included.

Let's be clear.  You can't walk with Jesus Christ and at the same time live the way the world lives, wallowing in the whims and desires of your body.  His love, properly understood, evokes an extreme love response in us, His children.  "Present" - - a noun: a gift.  "Present" - - a verb: to give.  When we walk resplendent we are giving God the present, the gift of our yielded bodies. The words "reasonable service" in verse 1 are better translated "spiritual worship".  When we lay our bodies down, we are worshipping God, instead of making our bodies our gods.

Honestly, I struggle with this every day.  Do you?  The pull of the "old nature" is strong.  And, it is easy to get discouraged, because discouragement is one of Satan's most potent weapons against us. But, every new day is a gift from God! (That's why they call it "the present"!)  Each new day is a new opportunity to once more lay my body down on the altar of sacrifice. Thank God!

When He came to Earth, lived and died for us, Jesus Christ was the embodiment of God's "living sacrifice", wasn't he?  Talk about self-denial, extreme giving, extreme love!  He is.  God never asks us to do anything He was not willing to do higher and better.  "If He, who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all..." (Rom. 8:32), how much more then must we live a resplendent life for Him?

Father, you call our self-denial a "reasonable service", but often, in comparison to the ways of this world it appears most "unreasonable".  Give Your children the strength to choose for You every day, and many times a day, as temptation looms strong.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1 Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. Print, p. 441.