Remaking, Reforming, and Restoring {deeper dive}

"Arise and go down..."

When we come to Jesus, most of us require work. No matter how life may have looked before, once we receive Him into our hearts there is a need for some remaking, reforming, and restoring. Can I get an amen?

At six years old, I got up and went down to the altar at the church my daddy pastored. Being born to parents in full-time Christian ministry, there was not much serious trouble I could get into as a young girl. Even then, I felt God’s pull to “arise and go down...”

God met me there, and the work began.

At salvation, when we are made new in Christ, the initial remaking is immediate, but additional, ongoing work has also begun. This ongoing work is sanctification—the reforming process of becoming more like Christ in behavior and attitude.

Regardless of the timing or circumstances of our salvation experience, we are most likely introduced to the spiritual disciplines at some point. The practices of Bible reading, prayer, and corporate worship are often the first phase of spiritual formation (reforming) for most Christians.

Spiritual formation has, for me, been a lifelong process. By this, I mean that I have continued to learn and grow (be reformed) in my walk with the Lord. More than once, I have drifted away and returned to God repentant. Perhaps you, like me, are eternally grateful for the restoring power of God in those moments.

Photo by Elijah O'Donnell from Pexels

Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will announce my words to you. Jeremiah 18.2