Your New Nature
What will you put on today?
Verse of the Day
“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”
Today’s Devotional
I don’t love the word “renew”. To me, if something is new, it has never been seen or owned or experienced before. So how can I see or have or experience something for the first time AGAIN? But I long for renewal in my life. I desperately want to be renewed as I learn to know God.
I guess this is where “nothing is impossible for God” comes into play. Because as I think about it, I can read a verse in the Bible many times, and then one day something clicks as the meaning of that truth takes hold of my heart. The verse is not new, but the understanding of it is new.
Back to today’s verse. This “new nature” that we are to put on is the representation of Christ being lived out in my life. It is the actions, words, affections and thoughts of a fallen human that has had a radical change because of the saving grace and sacrifice of Jesus. But I noticed something today about this verse. It says, “Put on” the new nature. To me that implies a daily choice. Every day when I am getting ready for the day, I have to decide which articles of clothing to wear and then physically put them on my body. Maybe this verse is telling me that I have to do the same thing with my spirit. Every morning I get to decide which “nature” I will wear. It is my belief that it takes an intentional choice to put on my Christ-nature. If I do not make a choice, then my default nature will be the sinful one. So when I am “too busy” to seek God first in the mornings because I have a busy day, then by default, I am not putting on my Jesus-nature. I am still wearing the old nature.
Based on what this verse is saying, I believe that my Christ-nature has the ability to grow and develop. It will become more trusting of God. It will become more loving. It will learn to pray bigger prayers. It will learn the value of rest. It will learn to be joyful no matter the circumstances. It will find gratitude everywhere. It will be in awe of the Majesty of God. But, how?
My new nature will grow by learning to know the Creator that made this new nature possible and available to me. The more I read the Bible, the more I know God. Even in the “boring” parts of the Bible (like the genealogies and the lists of all the people who served in different roles). It reminds me that God cares about the details enough to record them. The Psalms remind me that God delights in artistry and creativity. The Gospels remind me that God loves me enough to take on flesh. And that Jesus shows me how to live a life without letting others offend me.
There is a lot to learn from the Bible about the Creator. I can also learn about God by spending time with His creation. Both the created world and His created humans can teach me more about God. But I have to be willing to notice. I have to be willing to imitate the character of God. The more I do those things, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I am renewed. The more I am renewed in my commitment to God, the more my Christ-nature grows and develops. It is a never ending cycle. There is no finish line. And every single day I have a choice.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How is your sinful nature different from you Christ-nature?
In what ways have you seen your Christ-nature grow and develop?
In what ways do you still need to grow in your new nature?
What can you do today to grow in your knowledge of the Creator?
How can you imitate one thing that you have noticed about the character of God today?