Regeneration

I’ve been mulling over words for this blog post for awhile and two words keep getting stuck in my head: reset and restart. Together those two words define one key word– regeneration. Individually, those words do not carry the weight of the word regeneration. There are benefits that come with the latter that signify a do-over and with that, something becoming better than it was before.

I think of regeneration in terms of our individual lives and as a corporate group. I think at this moment in the world, with all that is going, on we need some regeneration. We need some bolstering up and restarting. I look around and I think that the qualities of Jesus– love, life, peace, joy and kindness–need to be evident in our lives more than ever before. We need regeneration not just in how we respond to the world but also in how we perceive it. This is not to say that everything is wrong, but that we are constantly meant to be transformed, renewed, changed, developed and sanctified. It is easy to get stuck in a rut, in a certain way of doing things or seeing things. It is easy to believe something because it always been that way. We are in need of regenerating our hearts’ perceptions, thoughts, words and actions.

Life is about continual change and it’s growth–regeneration.

John 10:10 is one of my all time favorite scriptures, “Jesus came that we may have life, and have that life abundantly.” I love that part of it– life abundantly. The definition of life is “the condition that distinguishes things living from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.” The part that sticks out to me is the capacity for growth and continual change. Life is about continual change and it’s growth–regeneration. This leads me to believe that not changing means something is dead or that it never lived at all. The first part of John 10:10 is often left out, it is most certainly not the important part of that scripture, but I do think we should be aware of what it says, “the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy.” Eeeeek! He is out to stop that growth, to thwart change… see where I’m going with this? Regeneration is part of the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. Evidence of being renewed, reconstructed, transformed, reformed and reordered. That is so exciting!

I don’t want to stay the same. I want my head and my heart, my thoughts and my actions, my responses and my perceptions to be constantly regenerated into His likeness. Take a moment to ask Jesus where there is spot in your life that He wants to regenerate–to bring newness and abundance into your life today!

To support the work that Because Justice Matters is doing in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco please click here.