RENEWED BY LIFE
The divine life, the highest life, the eternal life, the everlasting life, never gets old. If anything can become old, that is not the real life. Our human life is becoming old, so this is not a real life. The real life is always new; it is everlastingly new, ever fresh.
Romans 5:10 says we will be saved in His life. Then Romans 6:4 says that we should walk in newness of life. Life renews. We should tell the Lord, "O Lord, every day You are new." If we are faithful to the Lord and honest in saying this, we will never be the same as we were yesterday. Every day we will be renewed. We will have the new experience of Christ every day. I would say a word to the elderly brothers and sisters among us. No doubt, physically speaking we are old; we may be at least one generation older than the younger ones. But Psalm 103:5 says that God can satisfy us so that we may have our youth renewed like the eagle’s. Our youth can come back by taking Christ as life into us. We have to drop our oldness and say, "Praise the Lord! We have Christ within, so our youth has to come back." It is possible for us to have our youth renewed like the eagle’s by taking in Christ all day as our life. The Lord may tell the elderly saints to be more excited and the younger saints among us to be less excited.
We all need to be renewed day by day. Yesterday’s manna should not be today’s food. Every day we have the new manna (Exo. 16:14-22). By this renewing we will be delivered from our old manner of life, and we will be renewed into the new manner of life (Eph. 4:22-24). This is the church life. To put on the new man includes the putting on of the church life. We need to be renewed again and again.
Some of the brothers, according to their nature by birth, like to be alone. They like to stay home in their own room. This kind of disposition is not good for the church life. We all need to be renewed day by day from the old manner of life into a new manner of life. This new manner of life is the church life. Some are not used to talking to others. But in the church life you need to talk with others and be mingled with others. Otherwise, how can we be one Body?
On the other hand, there are some who are so open according to their natural disposition. These brothers are used to being one with others, not in the spirit, but in the natural life. One young brother may even be so open that he would exchange his shoes with another brother. Some would say that these two brothers love one another, but eventually these brothers will fight one another. Their relationship is not spiritual for the church life, but something in the natural life. We need to be renewed in every aspect of our daily life. If you are closed, the Lord will say, "Be open." If you are so open, the Lord will say, "Be careful. Don’t be so open." If you like to contact people by your nature, the Lord will say, "Restrain yourself a little bit." If you don’t like to contact people by your nature, the Lord will say, "Go out."
We need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind (Eph. 4:23). If we call on the Lord day by day, we will be renewed little by little. Eventually, we will have the Body life, the church life, absolutely not in a natural way. We will have a lot of contact, fellowship, and mingling in a very spiritual way. Natural relationships do not last. Enemies are made between people who were once friends. If you are fellowshipping with the brothers and sisters in a natural way, be prepared for discord. Today you may love a certain person, but later you may dislike him. We all need to be renewed by calling on the name of the Lord. By continually calling, "O Lord Jesus," we will be renewed in the spirit of our mind.
(The Fulfillment of God's Purpose by the Growth of Christ in Us, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
