BE TRANSFORMED

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect,” (NASB, Romans 12:1-2).

In his letter to the Romans, Paul urged the church to be transformed so they could resist the ways of the world and discern God’s will. Interestingly, Paul used the word translated elsewhere as “transfiguration” – the same term that described Jesus becoming radiant on the mountain – to describe the kind of change believers are called to.

But resisting the world’s ways doesn’t mean simply avoiding certain behaviors. In fact, it’s possible to act rightly and still not be transformed. No, the change required of us is nothing less than divine work: a remaking of our heart and mind. And the only way to get there is by abiding in Jesus – living each day in step with Him and His will.

That same Greek word meaning “transfiguration” is also found in 2 Corinthians, where Paul writes about being transformed into the image of God: “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit,” (NASB, 2 Corinthians 3:18). How can we reflect the Lord, as if a mirror, in our day-to-day life?

Paul calls for this transformation to happen by “…the renewing of your mind” (NASB, Romans 12:2). What could we do today to participate in that process with God?

Jeff