Redesigned or Renewed These were the two words I was torn between when choosing a name for this blog. For a while I was dead set on redesigned. My opinion…
Redesigned or Renewed
These were the two words I was torn between when choosing a name for this blog. For a while I was dead set on redesigned. My opinion stemmed from my dislike for the word renewed. Renewed to me paralleled the renewal of my apartment lease or car insurance. A kind of renewal where you say ok to another year of it being another aspect of your life and nothing changes other than a price increase. Redesigned, on the other hand, set off a light bulb of change. It brought about thoughts of redesigning a new bedroom; moving this and that around to create something fresh and new.
I set off to find the word redesigned in my Bible. As you may already know, redesigned is not a common word used in the Bible. In fact, it is not used at all… Interesting how I went running to my Bible when I wanted to find the answer I was determined to find. Just to be met with the answer I didn’t want.
You know what I did find? The word renewed over and over again. But I was STILL determined to use the word redesigned, so I changed my tactic. I started with researching what the Greek and Hebrew words were. Surely those words meant redesigned and our English translation mistakenly used the word renew as its substitute. Wrong again.
While I do not claim to be an expert, here is what I found…
The word renewed, or version of the word, is found over ten times in the New Testament. I searched the Hebrew and Greek word for renewed and settled on studying the Greek translation. (If you know you know #Hebrewishard)
The Greek word for “renewed” is “Anakainoo”.
This, by definition, is a verb meaning “to renovate or transform qualitatively in a new form or higher stage.” It means a complete change or structural renovation to a more developed state. This form of the word can be found in Colossians 3:10 “a man who is renewed in knowledge…” as well as 2 Corinthians 4:16, “…inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
The other form of renewed is renewal and can be found a handful of times in the Bible as well.
The Greek word for “renewal” is “Anakainosis”.
This, by definition, is a noun meaning “a complete change for the better.” A complete renovation. Do you see where I went wrong yet? Apparently, I didn’t because the English teacher in me decided to dive deeper. Dissecting the word “anakainosis” into parts.
I found “Ana” to mean “into the midst or again” and “Kainos” meaning “new or made fresh.” So this word renewal is NOT the same as the English version we throw around once a year when talking about rent or insurance. Down to its parts it literally means being made fresh and new again and again. My research completely debunked my theory that God really meant redesigned every time He said renewed.
God isn’t in the business of moving around things in my heart and mind. He seeks to completely transform me at my roots.Ephesians 4:23 states, “You were taught to be renewed in your hearts, to become a new person.” This renewal is a complete change, a qualitatively better version of you who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Far from a little redesigning of a work space. The Holy Spirit restores us to a new freshness where we become an extension of the love of God to the rest of the world.
So there I sat, and still sit, completely dismayed at the way I was determined to prove that God was going to redesign my thoughts, when in fact He can and continues to do so much more. He isn’t redesigning me at all, He’s making me new again and again.
So I pray,
God, I’m sorry for underestimating you. Help me to be renewed in knowledge of your everlasting love as I continue this journey we call life.
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