“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
(2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).
We pay a lot of attention to our skin. We wash it. Shave it. Moisturize it. Some of us even paint it.
Our skin is an important organ. It covers almost the entire body and offers protection to vital internal structures. Interestingly enough, our skin renews itself every twenty-eight days. This process occurs at the skin’s outer layer or epidermis. Skin cells are generated at the bottom and slowly make their way to the surface, where they eventually slough off.
How miraculous! Physically, we are becoming new creations. Paul claimed the same is true of our soul. Those who have bound themselves to Christ are being spiritually renewed.
Yet, just as the human skin is being changed outwardly, the internal changes that occur within the human spirit take time. Absolute transformation doesn’t happen all at once. Spiritual renewal is a deliberate, methodical initiative directed by God’s Holy Spirit.
This is especially good news for those of us who deal with sticky habits, hang-ups or hurts. Frustration often accompanies the Christian who desperately seeks to turn over a new leaf. From a personal perspective, change isn’t coming fast enough, if at all. Yet Paul assures us that God will complete the Spirit’s work of sanctification.
Our part in this renewal process is to make our hearts available to God’s Spirit by regularly participating in the spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, small group participation, and Holy Communion. These means of grace are the channels God uses to help us live and love like Jesus.
So, be of good cheer. Peel away your worry. Get your soul moving. And in the words of the American songwriter, Tom Waits:
When you hear sweet syncopation
And the music softly moans
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones.