Being Remade

As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 (emphasis added)

Axl’s outgrown his various children’s Bibles, so we recently moved on to the real deal. It’s slow going with a seven-year-old, reading only a chapter or two a night, but so far he’s embracing the language and there’s never a shortage of questions and commentary.

Last night we read that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. We talked about the meaning of the name, “one who struggles with God,” and looked at the ways Jacob and eventually the nation of Israel lived up to the name.

At the bottom of the page there was an exercise. Part 1, pick a new name from the list provided, one that describes the person you want to become. Immediately, Axl proclaimed “prayerful.” We talked about prayerful and what being a prayerful person might look like. Part 2, have your parents call you by your new name for a couple of days as a reminder of the person you want to become.

Axl, who moments before embraced the idea of his new name, suddenly lay stressed in his bed lamenting, “I didn’t know there was a test.” Instead of focusing on what he was becoming, Axl only saw what he was not. Axl failed to understand that we are “living stones being built into spiritual houses.” Once I explained that becoming a young man of prayer was a process, a commitment, an act of endurance that God strengthens him for (Hebrews 10:14; Philippians 2:13) he relaxed and prayerfully ended his day.

Hebrews 10:14 clearly relates this complex truth. Through His sacrifice we are forever perfected, brought into right standing before God, yet we are being sanctified. We can rebel against the process, but when we submit, who we are today is not who we will be tomorrow.

What if God let you choose a new name, what would it be? Share this exercise with a little or maybe spend some time with it personally. It might be fun to have a new name for a few days.

Enjoy this video by Jason Gray, “I Am New.” If you are viewing this as an e-mail you may need to go the actual blog site to watch the video. You can do that by clicking HERE.

                                     Not who I was I am being remade. I am New.