“The church - the body of Christ - is the place where God invites us to renew our loves, reorient our desires, and retrain our appetites.” - James K.A. Smith
Every person is a tangled mess of loves, desires, and appetites. At the moment of conversion, followers of Jesus have been given a new heart, and from a new heart flows new affections (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). But we will spend a lifetime for our affections to be continually transformed - this is the ongoing work of sanctification.
Through the power of God’s Word, God’s Spirit, and God’s people that I…
…am reminded of who I am, who I am not, and who I am called to be.
…come face to face with a life in community that breaks apart my desire for self-sufficiency.
…learn to serve rather than be served.
…am both wounded and healed.
…am reminded of who God is, and what He has done.
Father, may we joyfully submit to Your work through Your people for Your glory and our good, amen.
Amen,
AB