Blog

Time for Renewal

Posted on 02.20.2013

Ever since I was a little girl, I found that I always liked to see things change. To tell you the truth, the most immediate evidence was seeing a dirty and messy room turn into a clean and organized room. I liked to clean when I was young and with my family, it was a known fact that whenever “Janice” would visit with my aunts or my grandmother for a week or weekend, their homes would be cleaned if they were not when I arrived to visit. I was a “cleaner” and I rather enjoyed it. Again, seeing transformation take place was gratifying to me, and it still is.

As I think about Spring fast approaching along with Easter, I am reminded of Christ’s death and how his death on the cross is the reason we are changed. Many of us celebrate this season as a time for reflection, repentance, spiritual discipline and fasting. His death is why I could become a “new creation,” accepting Him as the payment for my sin.  Accepting Christ continues with the element of change, as this “new creation” business doesn’t stop there—and that is what I like the most.

I like the fact that I have been “born again” and will spend eternity with Christ and enjoy Him forever when this life is over. However, I really like the fact in Him I am being renewed every day as I consciously pursue Him. That means that I am being refreshed and that I always have a new start in Christ.

I constantly feel the need to be transformed. I always have the hope of changing for the better. I believe that each day, I can be a new and better person in Christ. I guess that explains why I still have hopes and dreams of living fully surrendered to Christ, because that truly is my desire in this life—to be fully surrendered and totally His. What about you?

Each day, though my body gives signs of decay, my inner person is bursting through with life and excitement and hope and a passion for living for Him with “gusto!” I want to share that “gusto” with those around me. This truth explains why I seek a closer and better walk with Christ—not just for me—but for those I love and care about. What about you?

For those who are in Christ, even though our “outward man” is perishing, our “inward man is being renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16). That is exciting! We are not only “new creations” (II Cor. 5:17), but we are also continually renewed and not growing old in our inner selves!

I encourage all  “new creations” to embrace this truth! Rejoice and be refreshed as you are renewed in Christ this season!