Paul tells us in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (NIV) The Life Recovery Bible – New Living Translation says: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” The last part of that verse often goes unsaid: “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” That is what I strive most for in my life and what I find most difficult to understand.
The goal of this blog is to share with one another how we approach transformation in our lives – to take a step out of self and to share with others our experiences and how God has used those periods of time to change us. And to explore new ways in which God is leading us to not conform with the behavior and customs of this world so that we can live in his will and be a witness to others that we Christians are not your average Joe!
John Ortberg explains that the word conformed used by Paul is summorphizo—to shape a thing into a durable likeness—a spiritual molding process. Transformed, Ortberg describes as metamorphoo—metamorphosis—“like a creeping caterpillar is transformed into a soaring butterfly”
We were all something before—something before we took the leap into change. Or maybe you are just beginning the process and wondering what to do…how to change your behavior into a new person. In some cases the journey has been a slow cautious walk forward. Some of us are in the midst of this period of change. I think if we desire to grow in the Lord, we should all be in a period of change, coming out of that period, or realizing that God is nudging us to look at the next areas in our life that he would like to heal in us.
There are things, people, or events that have shaped the people we are – or the people we were before transformation. Some of those events left wonderful memories of love, of strength, and of hope. Unfortunately, for some there were events in our lives that left scars, that when scratched bleed on the joy that God intended for us and those events color our actions.
Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-based 12-step program founded by Saddleback Church talks about taking a first step by admitting: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” And thus begins a journey of change from our hurts, habits, and hang-ups—leading to a place of hope. Paul says in Philippians 3:13: “No dear brothers, I am still not all I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”
So the journey starts with Romans 12: 2—where does it go from hear? What next steps would you take to no longer conform but be transformed???
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