Demolished And Renewed

Five years ago my life was renewed, I like how that sounds, renewed. That happened because five years ago my life was demolished. Man, I don’t like how that sounds. 

Demolished, I want to say Aarrrgh. Renewed, I want to say Yoo-Hoo!

I guess I need to decide which side of the equation I’m on.   

The Demolished Side

In general I like the word “demolished”.  Maybe because I’m a remodeler and I used to demolish things to build something new, or maybe just because I’m a guy, I actually like demolishing things. Taking a sledge to a wall is sorta soothing, and watching a tall building implode with explosives set in sequence is sorta cool. Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom, and slowly it falls into a cloud of dust. 

But demolishing things that don’t want to be demolished is different, watching the twin towers implode was tragic. Although I didn’t know anyone who was there, and I was 2000 miles away, that moment changed my life. Experiencing a kaboom in my brain, well that changed my life as well.

Demolished and renewed. I want to say it is part of the circle of life. The problem is, life in this world isn’t circular, it is linear.  It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (Heb 9:27)  We are born, once, and our bodies die once.

Because my life is linear, it makes me so grateful that my “renewing”, my second chance of life, is actually happening.  

The Renewing Side

Five years is a long time to work on things that were and are still demolished, but renewing is different. There, five years is just a drop in the bucket. A bucket which is filling up with good things.

Five years is also a breaking line of sorts for the medical world. Your cancer is deemed cured if it doesn’t come back in 5 years. Before 5 years has passed, 25% of people who had a stroke will have another stroke. That is a big percentage. In one month, hopefully I will pass that milestone. Hmm, does that mean I am cured? Hardly! Maybe? 

This anniversary seems significant. I’m thinking about celebrating it. As I think about it, maybe it is a turning point for me.  While recovery is still possible, the rate of recovery has slowed enough that I’m focused more on what I have to work with. Giving up on what was demolished, and focusing on what is renewing. 

Focusing on Renewing

I want and need a constantly renewed life. The difference between renewed things and things that are new is that “new” lasts for a second and then it starts to fade. That is why we need renewing.  If I don’t “renew”, I will fade away and eventually give up. Renewing is what we continually need.  

Renewing Happens Inwardly

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.        2Co 4:16

It happens inwardly. That is a crucial difference. What we think we want is a renewal in our bodies. I mean, Jesus went around restoring sight to the blind, and healing the leper, right? We want a miracle. That’s what I want. I want to be healed. I don’t know if God wants me to be healed in my body, but I know this, God wants me to have a new spirit. He wants me to be healed in my spirit. So which is more miraculous, a renewed body which will last for a while, or a renewed spirit which will live forever?

Our bodies are created to live. It’s amazing how they can fix themselves. Renewing in our physical bodies can happen for a while, but gradually in the end the “demolishing” happens. What a gift God gives when he offers us a renewed inner life. What a gift. In the midst of a slow (or fast) demolishing of our physical lives, God renews our spirit. 

Renewing comes from the Holy Spirit.

The renewing God offers comes from the Holy Spirit. Obviously, I’m working on my life, but I’m not sure how well it is going. Thankfully the Holy Spirit is working on my life as well, he is renewing me.

The bible says, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”  Tit 3:5

Regeneration and renewing, powerful stuff. Not by any good things we have done, but by his mercy he saved us and he is renewing us. The Holy Spirit is doing that. The Holy Spirit will do that if we let him in. 

Renewing Happens in our Minds

The renewal that God offers us happens in your spirit, and it happens in your mind. When I was thinking about writing this post I started with two verses. They were about renewing and demolishing, which accounts for the theme of and title of this post. And they both deal with our minds. The first one is about renewing, Romans 12.2 says, …do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… 

As much as I want to, renewing my body isn’t something I can do. But renewing my mind is different, it is something I can do. It is something I can continually work on. 

The second verse is about demolishing. 

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  2Co 10:3-5 

Demolishing bad things to make room for the good. 

In my case, renewing starts on my porch every morning with my bible open, listening to God’s words. That is also where the demolishing happens. Demolishing strongholds, taking captive every thought.  Sometimes renewing lasts for the day, on hard days oftentimes it doesn’t. It fades. But a new day beckons, there my porch sits, and renewing is possible, or maybe, mandatory.

Demolishing and renewing. I’ve decided which side of the equation I’m sitting on.  

How about you?