1 Chapter a Day’s take:
In verse 24 we read…an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
Unfortunately, many focus only on the conduct portion of this verse. To do so makes the verse look like this:
…an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
If you delete the words that have been stricken from the text above, you discover a kind of “Christianity” that is common in America today. A “brand” of Christianity that focuses only on conduct. This “brand” of Christianity encourages high integrity, morality, and family values. While these qualities are critical components of following Christ, something is missing here. What is missing is found in the stricken words.
Our conduct is to flow out of something…namely a vibrant relationship with Christ. A life that has been renewed from the inside out. It is through this internal renewal that God himself, reproduces his character in us. This lifestyle is less about us trying and more about being transformed by God himself. Does a caterpillar try to become a butterfly? No…it just becomes a butterfly because of what it is!
This does not mean that there is no struggle in transforming from caterpillar to butterfly. But the struggle is more of a natural part of being transformed than like: “if it tries hard enough it will become a butterfly, but if it does not, it will remain a caterpillar.”
Bottom Line: Following Christ is not about being good…it is about being godly. And being godly comes from being renewed from the inside. When internal renewal from God’s Holy Spirit occurs, the conduct takes care of itself…though there will be some struggle in the process, this struggle will be a natural part of transformation rather than: “I must try to be more like Christ…I must try to be more like Christ…I must try to be more like Christ.” The focus is on relationship with God instead of “manufacturing” good works and right living.
Beyond the Bottom Line: This concept is a difficult one for me to grasp…and to live. I am praying today that God will enable you to experience this freeing truth. And I request your prayers that I can too!
What is your take?
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