Tag: His grace is sufficient

Before renewal

Before we can undergo a renewal, a few things have to happen. If you want to improve an old home you can add new flooring and give it a fresh coat of paint. But have you actually improved the building or have you just “put lipstick on a pig,” as the saying goes.

If you want to improve an old house you have to inspect it and find the flaws. Maybe there is a lack of insulation (our old home would have been warmer through this cold snap if we had better insulation. Maybe it’s a crack in the foundation. The builder must inspect and find the defects. These problems should be fixed. Then, when the new paint goes on it represents the improved state of the home.

In the Old Testament, Malachi refers to the ‘refiner’s fire’ in this way; “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” (Malachi 3:3) The idea of burning off the impurities and extracting the best parts of the metal.

Hard times suck. Plain and simple. But we need to have difficulties and trials, we need to have our sins and defects burned off and allow the glory of Jesus to emerge. It’s like the old hymn that starts, “All of self and none of thee.” And through the verses it progresses to the final verse saying, “None of self and all of thee.”

The aim of renewal isn’t to emerge from the ashes as a better and stronger version of ourselves. But rather to emerge from our struggles and trials as a stronger reflection of Jesus. His glory is the aim not our own. The old saying “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” should actually be “What doesn’t kill you makes Jesus more visible in your life.” It is not as catchy for sure, but to me that is the ideal.

I do fall short! I know. But this is the aim.

Ephesians 4: 22 – 24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Remember Him

I​ pondered the words. “Do this in remembrance of me.” This is likely the most common reference to the Bible used during communion. We have carved out a special time to reflect and honour this moment. The bread and the wine are significant and symbolic of Christ’s blood and body. We think about His sacrifice.

Y​esterday as we did this a thought came to me. Jesus didn’t use fancy or special items. He used the items before him – the Passover feast. Yes there is greater significance in this as the meal ties him to God’s great retribution against the Pharaoh. But also these were everyday items. The bread, although unleavened, was the staple diet. The wine was ubiquitous.

H​ad Jesus’ last supper happened just last week in Texas, the items might have been cornbread and cola. Or if it happened in India it would have been green tea and naan bread. This is fanciful perhaps. But the point is these were the staples of life.

We are to remember Jesus in the everyday, in the mundane repeat parts of our lives. We are to focus on him always not just in special moments.

T​he Israelites were told to teach their children about God in every moment. To have His commandments infiltrate every part of their lives. As we go about our lives remember Christ – the bread that sustains and the drink that quenches. The living water that will make us thirst no more.

D​euteronomy 6: 4 – 9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The answer

There is just one answer to all of the problems in life. It doesn’t make the problems go away. It doesn’t make the struggle easier. It doesn’t even explain the big why question. It does however give us purpose and hope.

We can have confidence in this answer. We can trust it fully. The gospel is the answer.

Romans 1: 16-17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”