The first significant purchase LaNelle and I made in our marriage was a dining table and chairs. In that first year of marriage, we were living in a furnished apartment building owned by the college. But the dining room set that came with it? A bit rickety, to say the least. It was a test of its stability to put a full pot of stew on it. Would it hold? What happens when we add bowls, tableware, napkins, and salt and pepper shakers?

The problem was there wasn’t another dining table and chairs available for us, so we went shopping, took the plunge, and bought our first major household furniture. We were very proud. It was so nice and we were very careful: hot pads under the dishes, nothing slammed down carelessly, no scratches, no scuffs, no problems.

Until there was.

We had some rectangular wooden hot pads with sharp corners. I won’t say who, but somebody dropped one of those and it hit the table corner first. It put a nice, noticeable, no-way-to-hide-it indentation in the surface of our still-new table.

From then on, we weren’t nearly as careful about protecting our first big purchase.

The shine came off.

When we become followers of Christ, we become new.

• If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. (II Corinthians 5:17)
• We have put on the new self, in the likeness of God, called to imitate Him in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
• We walk in a newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
• We have put on a new self, which is being renewed... (Colossians 3:10)

God started a work in this Christian age on this earth that will continue into eternity. There will one day be a new heaven and a new earth. (Revelation 21:1; II Peter 3:13) In the visions of the revelations Jesus delivered to John, he heard the One sitting on the throne say, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

Renewal (in fact, the very word new) is a theme of the Bible. In some instances, it is God’s restorative action to change something that is damaged, marred, or inadequate into something pure, perfect and enduring.

But there is also the renewal that is ongoing and perpetual, keeping us spiritually sharp and in ever-increasing synch with the steps of the Spirit of God. It refreshes the shine of salvation and our restored relationship to God.

This is where I ended last week’s article:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

This is to be an ongoing process. Paul was writing to people who were believers, not someone still thinking about stepping into the baptismal water. It is an essential process for us that we continue to detach ourselves from the world (conformity) and firmly attach ourselves to all that is holy and godly (transformation). This is renewal.

This idea of a “renewed” mind is the image of renovation. Our mind has been renovated from what it was to what it can be. Changed from what? When Paul wrote that we are not to be “...conformed to this world...”, the word for “world” translates better to “age”. We are not to be influenced by the thoughts, practices, philosophies, and lifestyle choices of this age we live in.

We are in a constant state of renewal. Those folks who can peel the layers from the Greek word meanings tell us that this is an ongoing inner change. In the previous verse, Paul said we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. We are giving ourselves to Him. This isn’t first about what we do, but is about what we give. This decision to give ourselves, including our minds, completely to God, well, that keeps the shine bright and our faith fresh.

Just like that dining table, we’ll get beaten up, scratched, and damaged. But, unlike that dining table, God will continually renew us and lift us to healed heights we can’t attain on our own. The light of salvation in us will always shine bright as we give ourselves to Him, being renewed.