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But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

The Spirit renews our hearts and moves us to faith, leads us into truth and helps us to pray, stands by us in our need, and makes our obedience fresh and vibrant. (OWBTG 29)

We may not be naturally inclined toward doing the right thing.  Some of us are.  But I suspect that many of us have our moments of angry outbursts, judgemental attitudes, and indulgences.  Here’s the thing though: God saves us anyway.  Despite who and what we are, we are loved by God in Christ all the same.  Not because we deserve it, not because we have earned it with a bunch of righteous things we’ve done, but because of his great mercy, kindness, and love. 

And now throughout the rest of our lives, the Holy Spirit is slowly and surely renewing us.  Like a waterfall pouring and pounding over the stones below, the Spirit is constantly flowing, moving, polishing, and washing us. 

Just like with those stones at the bottom of the cataract though, it can take years and decades before the hard edges get smoothed off.  Sometimes that slow pace can be discouraging: shouldn’t we be better people and Christians already by this point in our life?

But despite how things might look, we are invited to always keep the end in view.  We have become heirs with Christ, heirs of hope and eternal life.  The work will one day be complete.  We will one day take our place in the kingdom of God as the renewed people we can only now imagine ourselves to be. 

Hopefully that hope does more than give us the courage to endure the slow rate of growth we face now: hopefully it also propels us toward the good we seek.  That’s Paul’s invitation here in his letter to Titus.  But this is also the Spirit’s work—to move us toward the good and to make “our obedience fresh and vibrant.”

So, continue praying as the Spirit helps you today for this good work to see it’s way through to completion!  Remember the breath prayer: “Holy Spirit, come.”