“He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
– Ruth 4:15
Ever had a computer or smartphone that’s infected by a virus or malware? If so, you know that helpless feeling when it crashes, freezes, or slows to a maddening crawl. And soon enough, that once top-of-the-line machine becomes nothing more than an expensive plastic paperweight.
But don’t lose hope. There are expert technicians who can clean out such infections and prevent future performance issues with your device. So, a once-dead phone or computer can often be restored to better-than-new condition.
Every Christ-follower over the last 2,000 years can relate to this modern-day illustration. Like a reconfigured smartphone that now reboots without hesitation, we become born again once we put our faith in Jesus. And it’s at that point that we start over with a clean slate — ready to do good works to advance God’s kingdom. Think about all the times over the years that we’ve mistreated others, all the lies we’ve told, and all the time we’ve wasted: it’s all forgiven because Jesus paid the penalty we deserve by dying for you and me on the cross.
Now declared justified in God’s eyes, we can look forward to an eternity of joy with our Creator. But until that day when we meet our Savior face to face, we’re empowered to live restored, fruit-bearing, Spirit-filled lives, which the apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Galatians:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
It's through Jesus — and Jesus alone — that we find our restoration. And it’s through him that all things become new again.
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