The Holy SpiritSample

A hundred years ago, as the world plunged into the Great Depression, products were advertised as better quality, promised to last. And if a product did eventually wear out, people did what they could to make it workable, patching and mending everything from clothes to kitchen utensils to machine gears. (Imagine stuffing a wad of newspaper in your shoes to patch a hole in the sole!) A decade later, as prosperity came at the cost of world war, the slogan became “Make do and mend.”

This isn’t what the work of the Holy Spirit looks like. He doesn’t take our hearts and “make do” with something less than ideal. He doesn’t say, “Well, if this is all I’ve got to work with...” Instead, he comes into our lives and makes them new.

The Greek word that is translated “new life” is literally “renewal.” The word is only used two times in the Bible, here and in Romans 12:2. This is not a renewal of patched pockets and rigged together machinery. This is a renewal that can only come through the Holy Spirit. When it comes to living the godly life, God doesn’t want us to make do. He makes us new.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for this gift of new life. Help me to spend every moment wisely, loving you and loving people and looking for ways to share with the world the truth of who you are. Amen.