New Year = New Commitments to Transformation

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything for this blog and I guess the start of a new year is as good a time as ever to start over with the blog. When I first started writing I did it for a group of young women who were studying Romans 12:2, one of my favorite verses , and trying to grasp what that meant for their future. Most of those women have gone on to college and I find this is still one the most important verses for me, especially with the start of a new year and all the talk about resolutions for 2011. This new entry is dedicated to those young women and my friends who are walking this walk.

Marie Chapian in the Women’s Devotional Bible says: “It is a challenge to live our lives as sacrifices to God. When we do, we aren’t the masters of our bodies and minds—God is.” How simple that sounds and yet it is a daily struggle for me to let God be that master of my body and mind. We are bombarded by things of this world that tell us we can live however we want as long as we are happy. And yet in the simplest of terms Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love another. “ John 13:34. It ALL starts with his love that compels us to love others in the same way.

So then what of love and its role in the way we as Christians live our lives—lives that the New Living Version of the same verse 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.” If we skip ahead to verses 9-10 Paul tell us “Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. “

This love springs from God’s love of us and we are thus compelled to love others in the way that he loves us. Not a simple task for mere humans; at least not this human. I can quickly become selfish and intolerant if someone doesn’t respond the way I think they should. I can become demanding of things I think I deserve. I can be cold-hearted if people and things don’t fit in my schedule. I whine if I don’t have the attention I think I should. I guess I pretend more than I would like to admit.

Notice a trend here? All about me! A worldly 21^st Century attitude that I pray I can change in the coming year. William P. Young in “The Shack” speaking as God said: “ Paradigms power perception and perceptions power emotions. Most emotions are responses to perception—what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfulness of your paradigms—what you believe. Just because you believe something firmly doesn’t make it true. Be willing to reexamine what you believe. The more you live in the truth, the more your emotions will help you see clearly. But even then, you don’t want to trust them more than me. “

In the year ahead I pray that we all find ourselves living God’s love in all that we do and that we constantly seek HIS truth in all situations, casting aside our selfish desires for his. Today I take another step on my spiritual journey and I invite you to share yours with me that together we may grow strong in our walk and gain more of God’s wisdom with each new step.