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April 1, 2012
Transformed
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing
you may discern what is the will of God, what is good
and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1,2)
When Paul
writes, “Don’t be
conformed to the world” many Christians will say, “Oh, that means
don’t smoke. Don’t
drink. Don’t
play cards.” and so on.
None of which is the real issue.
The reality
is that each day, whether we are conscious of it or not,
the world we live in tries to conform us to its way of
thinking. This
programming of our minds and behavior doesn’t happen
over night. But
it does happen 24/7/365.
Slowly, purposefully, the effort is made to
conform us to the thinking of this world.
How does the
world think? The
whole world is focused on self - the advancement of
self, personal happiness, and self-gratification.
“What’s in it for
me?” A philosophy and a thought process
that promises so much and yet when it infiltrates our
homes, community, and church tears us apart leading to
heartache, ruin, and disaster.
Paul
writes, “but be
transformed.” Our English word “metamorphosis” comes from
the same Greek word as “transformed.” Think
caterpillars becoming butterflies. A complete
change in form, shape, and structure. Paul
writes, “but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.” “Renewing” is complete renovation. Think “Extreme
Makeover.”
We
thought like the world.
We were focused on ourselves. But, now we’re
coming to think focused on God. Which is the
opposite of how the world thinks. The result,
Paul writes, is that we will experience what God wills
for us in our homes, community, and church - that which
is “good and
acceptable and perfect.”
Not
bad. Except
for one small problem.
Its impossible.
At least if we try to accomplish this
transformation by our own will, wisdom, and work. Transformation
is a work of God.
Salvation
opens up to us the transformed life - the abundant life
that Jesus spoke about (John 10:10b). Life lived
beyond the limitations of what we can imagine for
ourselves. Life
as God has created life to be lived.
God
by His grace breaks into our lives - the once foolish -
disobedient - enslaved - deceived by this world. God’s love is
poured out as Jesus, dying on a cross, takes on Himself
the penalty for our sins. Not because we
deserve it. But
because God is gracious.
Because God is loving. We no longer
belong to evil. God
ransoms us from fear and hatred. God makes us
to be heirs of life with Him. Paul writes
that only reasonable response is to give ourselves
totally to God.
That’s
why Paul writes about presenting out bodies as living
sacrifices, totally giving ourselves to God (holy), in
the way which is acceptable to Him. That means
committing all that we are to God by laying ourselves
without reservation on the altar before God - and
leaving ourselves there 24/7/365. As we give
ourselves totally to God we place ourselves before Him
in openness to His ongoing work of transformation and
renewing of our lives.
Put simply:
As we give ourselves to God He gives to us the
abundant life we deeply crave.
What
all this means in the real world of our lives is very
intentional. I’m
finding that spending regular time with God by reading
His word and in prayer (think daily) places me where He
has access to my heart.
Worship opens my heart to Him. Not indulging
in sin keeps my heart connected with Him. Obedience
allows Him to shape my character from the inside out. Choosing to
trust Him when I have no clue what comes next and
finding Him faithful changes my thinking about the
circumstances of my life.
Put simply:
Intentionally attending to the basics of the
Christian life is huge.
Lately
my prayer has become this (maybe you might pray this for
yourself): God, cause me to think differently than how
the world has shaped me to see, hear, and feel. God cause me
to have open eyes, open ears, and a heart open to see,
hear, and feel the world around me as you see, hear, and
feel it.