Open for Renovations

As the old saying goes, "There are none so blind as those that don't want to see!". In the words of Jesus, "Blessed are those that know their need of God (poor in spirit), for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mt.5:3), and again, "Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Mt.5:6).

The life of a disciple of Christ should be continually "open for renovations" - in Paul's words, "transformed by the renewing of your minds" (Rom.12:2). "Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people", writes Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline. Too often "discipleship" is seen as being primarily for new Christians in baptism classes. Surely it should be the heartfelt desire of every Christian/disciple to sit at the feet of our Lord and Master, to drink in His teaching, to be motivated and driven by Holy Spirit, to follow in His footsteps, to live in constant communion.

In Bonhoeffer's words, "Grace is free, but it is not cheap". In order for Christ to be renewing our inner being, we must daily 'take up our cross' (Lk.9:23) and let our natural sinful nature be daily 'crucified with Christ' (Gal.2:20). Only then by such emptying, will we be open and ready for the daily process of inward renovations.

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