Are You In Need of a Reboot?
Have you ever rebooted? We do it on our computers all the time. When something crashes somewhere within the hardware, what do we do? We shut it down, which allows the machine to reset itself, usually fixing whatever caused it to crash or lock up in the first place. This process also helps to free up memory space and clear temporary files. I do a reboot on my phone and cable box from time to time as well. Once rebooted, these devices are made fresh again.
Movies and television shows are known to reboot. Think of all the Disney movies from your childhood that came back into existence for your own kids. One of my favorite shows as a child was Leave It to Beaver, which ran six seasons, from 1957 to 1963. The show rebooted in 1983, as Still the Beaver, first as a movie, then a show that aired until 1989. My afternoons usually find me allowing my brain to rest and reboot. For many months, part of that “freshening up” regimen was watching all 234 episodes of the original series.
Now, let me ask again. Have you ever rebooted? Sometimes rebooting is nothing more than getting away from life’s rat race for some period of time, to quiet your soul and slow your mind, allowing you to enjoy and appreciate what is often ignored. You know, take time to “smell the roses.” Maybe it means getting away from technology, putting your devices down. Other times, it means making major changes in our thoughts, actions, attitudes. In my opinion, for whatever the reason, to whatever degree it might be, periodic rebooting is never a bad thing. In fact, I have found it to be quite holistically healthy.
When we commit our life to Christ, through the power of the Spirit, we are reborn. This reboot makes us new. The apostle Paul makes this statement – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
We are told that through Christ our old sinful nature is dead, allowing us to grow in our new identity (Colossians 3:9-11). Isaiah tells us to let go of our former things and cling to this new identity in Christ (43:18-19).
Not only are we made new, rebooted if you will, this process of making new is fresh every day – “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him” (Lamentations 3:22-24).
And in the closing pages of the greatest story ever told, that of God’s never-ending, never-failing redeeming and restoring love for us, we find this promise – “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’” (Revelation 21:5).
So, right now, are you in need of a reboot? Big or small, why not ask God, maybe for the first time, the tenth time, or even the umpteenth time, to make you new, make you fresh again, to reboot your broken operating system. He promises to do so if you are willing to be made new.
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