Renewal
Ephesians 4: 20-24 (NLT) "But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God--truly righteous and holy. - Ephesians 4:23-24
I picked this verse to memorize at the beginning of the year. I loved the way it talked about "renewal" and "created". But as I sat reciting word after word in repetition it sunk into my bones and sparked something more.
The context of the passage talks about turning away from sin. I love the transformation part that is passed over so easily when we read a section of scripture of "what not to do". In fact in context it turns us from our sin, redeems us, and turns us into the Children of the Light that God has called us. You see there is a lot of action in this verse! As we have all hopefully proclaimed to make Jesus our Lord and Savior, we now start a life of following God daily. First the Spirit inside of us renews our thoughts and attitudes. I am to put on that new nature. Put on those renewed thoughts and attitudes. And in the end I am created to be righteous and holy. I can definitely do with more of that daily. But whose responsibility is it to renew our thoughts and attitudes? The Spirit's. As a Type A personality I have a habit of taking control, of trying to take on that responsibility. I can even take on the responsibility to redeem myself. But the thing is, my friend, I am not very good at redeeming myself. In fact, I am pretty helpless at it. Depending on God to redeem me and putting on His thoughts and His attitude is what I am called to do. I picture putting on His thoughts and attitude like a garment I wear that day. Like clothing that just doesn't cover me, but embraces me. Like in Romans where it says, "The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shinning armor of right living.... clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 13:12, 14a). So I choose to depend on God to redeem me and I clothe myself in His thoughts and attitude, that is my calling. But the things Jesus dresses me in is something I would never be able to attain. Truly righteous and holy, how can I become those things apart from God. But the fact is He sees me like He sees Himself. And that is something I am never gonna be able to do, apart from Him. No matter how much I strive and work I can not make it happen on my own strength. But with Jesus I am able to not just obtain righteousness and holiness, but dress in it. Put on righteousness and holiness as a garment and wear it throughout my day. Have the God of Heaven look down and see me that way.
In the midst of all the wrongs I still seem to make, in all the errors I fall to, in my selfish ambition to be self-sufficient, Jesus gently reminds me that I am still solely dependent on Him. I embrace Holy Spirit to renew my thoughts and attitudes with Christ. I get to put on God's nature, righteousness and holiness.
