Decluttering & Centering

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.” 
-Ephesians 4:21-24

Have you ever received a new piece of clothing that in theory should replace an older item? Yet there is a fondness and maybe even memories with that older item that you continue to cling to it and allow the new item to remain in your closet. In full transparency (and risk of never getting a gift from my wife again) for my birthday this year she got me a new coat. Initially, I didn’t know how I felt about it and it was different from my older one. Now, I will say it was stylish and definitely better than the one that I had but it had a new smell, and I simply liked my older one, so for a while it just hung in the closet.

Let’s be honest. There are elements of our old nature that we like and do not want to “throw off.” It is convenient to live for myself and not have to consider others. Humility can be a chore and working out differences in grace and love is laboring. A convenient faith that allows us to run it in tandem with our old nature is much more appealing and easier to maintain. So, like my coat, we can hang the “new nature” in the closet and be grateful for it. As ridiculous and contrary to what Paul says, let alone, contrary to what Jesus says, we often maintain this way of life.

This is why Paul, not just here but his other letters, compels them to “Thow off the old nature.” He knows our tendency to hold on and try to keep both, side by side, in the closet. Jesus teaches that true discipleship is “Remaining in Him.” Another approach Jesus teaches this concept is by saying, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow.” If we want real life, if we are to live into the fullness of Imago Dei, then we must recognize that our old nature and way of doing things is NOT God’s intention but leads to death.

At some point, I had to break the routine and grab that new coat and wear it. Once I did and the more I put on the coat, the more I felt comfortable in the new threads. Not only did I become comfortable, but I began to appreciate and enjoy the coat. The crazy thing is now I reach only for that coat without hesitating or thinking.

“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” is the first step in putting on the new nature. If we humbly relinquish control and open our lives to the Holy Spirit, then our whole perspective changes. The Holy Spirit renews and shapes the way we think, love, and act. Our values even begin to change. Soon, we see how wonderful the new nature is, and it becomes integrated into our daily life.

Following Jesus means making daily choices that reflect his authority and the integration of the new nature. It means being intentional in how we interact and communicate with others so that it is done in love. This is why Jesus, in John 15, compelled his disciples to “make their home in him” or “Abide.” When we abide in Jesus, we make him our default setting or our permanent place from which we move and think. Often, we have to reposition ourselves and shift our actions to maintain the new lifestyle. On paper or in a devotion it seems easy but there will always be elements of old nature that creep into our peripheral. I appreciate Jesus’ temporal side note on being a disciple, “Daily.” The only way we are to guard from the old nature is to intentionally and daily act in the way of Christ.

Spiritual formation is the process of becoming conformed to the image of Christ. In essence, living into the New Nature which is Christ. The desert mothers and fathers recognized the difficulty and challenges of maintaining this process. Many created various practices to hone our ability or shape our hearts to be more like Christ. Disciplines like fasting declutter our lives and help us reconnect with God. Our old self and its patterns and behaviors are still ingrained into our thinking. Therefore, we need retraining to help rewire the new patterns of behavior and thinking into our way of life. The Spirit moves and shapes and we have to intentionally act in conforming to the image of Christ. The great thing is that we have a template to follow. Jesus very intentionally instructed us and even demonstrated how to walk in the new life. This season of Lent may we prioritize and intentionally work to declutter our lives, fling off the old coat, and put on the new actions and lifestyle of Jesus!