Day 2: God Renews Us Every Day

Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 
Listen to this scripture passage & reflection, and pray along with us…

In Christ, you and I have two aspects to our being. And there’s a sense in which these two aspects are going in two different directions. There’s the outward man, which is our body. It’s the part of each other’s being that we can all see. And then, there’s the inward man, which has been made new in Christ. 

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God continually makes us new. Every moment of every day brings a fresh beginning. God calls us to let go of “former things,” so we can cling to our new identity in Christ. Let us take a minute and think about the things in our old life. Is there anything that we are still holding onto today that is holding us back? If so, it is not too late to let it go because God renews his people every day. 

So, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; in times of trial and affliction, you can take it on faith that God is mightily at work. You can rejoice confidently in the fact that, although your outward man is undergoing decay, your inward man is being renewed day-by-day. You can know, as a settled certainty, that the present time of affliction has an eternal purpose—and, in God’s mighty hands, it is producing an eternal weight of glory. 

St. Paul shows us here that God is at work doing these things in times of affliction. But will you do your part? Will you make it your resolve to keep your eyes, not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen? Will you make it your purpose of heart to keep your focus on the eternal prize—to keep your focus on Christ Himself, on the inheritance we will eternally enjoy in Him and the heavenly glory we will forever share with Him? If we will do so, then no matter what else may happen, we will be able to say with Paul, “Therefore we do not lose heart”, my brothers and sisters.

By Fr. Patrick Kizza