More than Maintenance

If you own a home you know that maintenance is ongoing for proper upkeep.  Yesterday I was doing some caulking in the bathroom and so I had to strip off the old stuff and carefully replace it with new.  Our neighbors are often seen doing various things to their homes too. Not long ago we saw one couple up on their roof taking care of something with the chimney.  It’s called the second law of thermodynamics, everything eventually wears down, whether its a loss of energy or order so that regular maintenance is needed !

How true this is of the Christian life !  When Paul wrote to the Ephesian churches he said, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (4:22-24). These are key verses in understanding the dynamic involved in genuine spiritual growth !  It is simple, yet powerful !!    We cannot expect to experience true holiness and legitimate spiritual transformation if there is not a putting off of that which is sinful (the old man) and replacing it by the spiritual renewal process where the mind is impacted by God’s Word so that the new man can develop !!  Simply put, each time you sit down and carefully listen to the Word, you allow God to maintain and even manufacture His likeness in you as Paul also wrote in Rom.12:2 (“and be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . “).

Isn’t it thrilling you don’t have to put on a show spiritually?  You just have to take in the Word and be receptive to it and God begins to chip away that old junk and replace it with something fresh and vibrant !   How often its easy to neglect that book in our home called the Bible for a TV show or hobby, a phone call or household chore. When what awaits us is absolutely mind and then life altering in the best of ways !!  Is it any wonder God told Joshua to meditate on it for then he’d have “good success”?!!   Its a new day, don’t forget to put in the Word !!!