Repainted or Renewed?

I've been thinking a lot lately about this idea of renewal.  What does it mean?  What does it look like?  How do I know if I'm renewed or just "repainted"?  Well I think renewal is something bigger than just a paint job.  Paint is a wonderful thing, don't get me wrong.  Paint can make a room "look" brand new, but in reality it's the same room it was before just a different color! 

Renewal goes deeper than a paint job.  It's about  completely changing the structure of something.  Renewing something involves two key steps - taking the old down and putting the new up.  Renewing is more like renovating than painting.  In a big renovation project you generally tear out walls or cabinets or something.  In renewal very similar things happen, our old ways are torn down and something new is built in its place. 

Paul refers to this idea of renewal many times in his letters. He reminds followers of Jesus to be renewed.  The first step in this process of renewal is to remove the old stuff - the old ways of thinking, the old images that cluttered our minds, the old thoughts about people and traditions and work and family and neighbors.  After we get rid of the old thought pictures, it's time to hang some new ones.  Once we tear down the walls that we've built with our own traditions, we can rebuild the walls that the Bible teaches us.  Paul says in Titus 3:5 - He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

One of the keys to salvation is that we should see differently on the other side of knowing our salvation.  If we truly trust in Christ and have faith in what he teaches then we should be going through this renewal process every day.  Day by day, the scriptures tell us that we are to put off the old stuff of this world and put on the new stuff of faith.  Everyday we're to re-clothe ourselves with the truth that comes from knowing who Jesus is!  Everyday Jesus wants to break down the walls of our fears and our failures and then rebuild the new house that he designed us to be. 

My prayer today is that God would begin this work of renewal in you and me.  God is at work in us!  Everything around us is part of God's plan to grow us more and more into his image and likeness.  When we are renewed - we simply see it that way instead of blaming God for the "bad stuff."  Lord, today we need to be renewed!  Break down the walls of our doubts and our fears and renew us into your image that we might be able to better reflect the light of your Son in the world we live.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.