I love the word renovation for describing what God does in
us as we follow Jesus. The word means to restore to good condition; make new or
as if new again; repair. Or, simply, to revive. It comes from the Latin verb renovāre
, re- + novāre to make new. Renewal: a pulsating,
life-giving description of exactly what God does with us. This begins a series
of posts which will explore aspects of spiritual renewal.
Made in God’s image, we were meant to reflect and refract God’s
glory and to emulate his character. Think of humans as gemstones that sparkle
with brilliance as his light shines through us. Sin is like black impurities
that cloud the clarity of the stones and obstruct our ability to sparkle and
radiate God’s glory. Oozing from our broken hearts, sin seeps into every fiber
of our being; it perverts our worship, prevents our fellowship with God and
defiles our words and deeds. Renewal is the process by which God enters in to purge
us of grease and grime, to restore our luster and brilliance, and recondition
us to reflect his life-giving light to a dark, dying world.
The process is a mysterious, miraculous work of God, which, in
many ways, exceeds our finite comprehension. Though we can’t analyze or
articulate all the mechanics, the Bible and the experience of believers provide
a measure of insight into how it “works.” With the help of some modern day
spiritual masters,[1] I’ve
come to think of it like this:
Process: Inside-out transformation of the entire self
Power: The indwelling Holy Spirit
Means: Training toward Christlikeness in every dimension of
life (spiritual disciplines)
Goal: Character traits that lead us to naturally and
joyfully live like Jesus (virtues)
The process is well illustrated by sailing.[2]
We are like a sailor and a vessel destined for “that celestial shore” called the
kingdom of heaven. Arriving at this goal will mean our lives are completely
remade and completely submitted to Jesus as our Master and King. While
remaining uniquely ourselves, we will think and act like Jesus would if he were
us; Jesus will, in fact, be living through
us. By the time we reach the far shore, we’ll still be a ship, but we’ll have
undergone a complete overhaul. We’ll have a different character. We’ll be
virtuous.
If we’re in Christ, our journey has begun. God is already in
the process of restoring our hearts
and reordering our lives. But he doesn’t begin by giving us a new paint job,
despite its weathered deck and worn hull. He starts inside and works his way
out. He fixes structural damage, repairs broken parts, replaces rotten boards,
mends torn sails. Along with, or after, these essential repairs, he patches
holes, seals cracks and eventually refinishes the ship’s exterior. Some of this
work may be done in dry dock, but most is miraculously done en route to the
destination.
God renovates us by the empowering presence of his Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the wind in our
sails, moving us to our goal. (I find it interesting that in both Greek and
Hebrew the word for “spirit” can also mean “breath” or “wind;” these meanings
play off each other in fascinating ways throughout the Bible.)
Our role is to avail ourselves of the Spirit’s work in our
lives. Sailors must set the sails in such a way that they catch wind, so the
boat will travel.[3] We
do this by practicing spiritual disciplines. They put us in a position
to receive grace. They allow the Spirit to fill our sails and propel us toward
godliness.
As we practice these disciplines we become expert sailors.
We learn to read the currents, predict the weather, navigate at night and control
our vessel in harmony with the wind, regardless of conditions. In a word, we
develop skill. On the spiritual plane, after long periods of practice, cultivating
new habits, we develop virtues,
deeply-ingrained character traits. We cultivate a new nature that replaces the
old one. From this new nature, following Jesus flows naturally. Our spiritually
renewed self begins to claim victory in its battle with the sinful nature. We put
on the character of Christ.
This new character, cultivated through spiritual
disciplines, replaces our old sinful nature. We live from a new heart,
empowered by God’s Spirit, and we actually do what Jesus would do if he were in
our shoes.
[1]
Esp. Dallas Willard, The
Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (New
York: HarperCollins, 1988); John Ortberg, The
Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997); Richard Foster, Celebration
of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, rev ed. (New York: Harper
& Row, 1988); N. T. Wright, After
You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters (New York: HarperCollins,
2010). My indebtedness to these authors will show throughout this series.
[2]
John Ortberg, in The Life You’ve Always
Wanted, also uses the sailing
metaphor. Except at the points noted below, this development of thought is
independent of his.
[3]
Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted,
51.
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