Article October 11, 1982 Issue

Honoring spiritual awakenings

MARGUERITE E. BUTTNER

Instead of birthdays, which celebrate the number of years since a mortal beginning, should we not honor our spiritual awakenings? These awakenings are new beginnings that give us a fresh insight into our real being as children of God. They are our second births, our spiritual rebirths.

Opportunities to begin anew occur continually. A chapter of life ends, or a job is finished, and everyone is saying, "Congratulations!" But where do we go from there? Or we fail to reach a goal, and people say, "I told you so!" Is it really an end? The truth is, we always have another opportunity to try again from a higher, more spiritual standpoint.

The new beginnings that really regenerate do not necessarily require changed physical settings. Paul, that faithful follower of Christ Jesus, counsels, "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."^{Rom. 12:2.} He also says, "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."^{II Cor. 4:16.} In still another place he speaks of renewal as putting on "the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."^{Eph. 4:24.}