Conform or Transform??

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Romans 12:2

Jello is an amazing food—if congealed sugar-water can be considered such.  It’s colorful, tasty, fun, and is found in an almost infinite variety of shapes.  This is possibly Jello’s best quality.  You can mold it into anything you want—just mix, pour, refrigerate, and be patient.  Since Jello has no form of its own, it simply takes the shape of the mold it’s placed in.   

Christians should not be Jello.   Though our lives should be bright with God’s grace, and we should bring flavor to the earth around us, and we should be full of joy, and we should be adaptable to various situations, we should not simply take the shape of the mold we are placed in.  We are not to be formed by forces from the outside, but, instead, we should be influenced and affected by the Force on our inside.  Since the One in us is greater than the one in the world(1 Jn 4:4), we are instructed to “not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”(Rom 12:2).

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to not give in to the constant pressures of the current culture.  I’m not talking about fashion or style (though we probably should have said, “No!” to polyester pantsuits from the seventies and bubble suits in the eighties!)  This verse delves into much deeper stuff—the pervasive attitudes and perspectives of the world in which we live.  Even those who intentionally isolate themselves from technology, media, and common social interactions cannot escape the “pattern of this world” and must deal with the decision to conform or transform.  No matter who we are or where we are, we must continually choose our point of view for life’s circumstances, situations, and options.  The world will ask, “Is it good for me?”  We should ask, “Does it bring God glory?”  The world will say, “Get all you can.”  We should say, “Give all you can.”  The world will scream, “Live for now!”  We should shout, “Make now count for later.”

The pattern of this world is not shaped around the unchanging, unalterable, perfect Word of God but is based on the shallow lies of a defeated rebel.  He started weaving his web of deceit in Eden where Eve succumbed to his temptation and fell for a piece of forbidden fruit.  The agonizing pain of sin and death which still follows should continually remind us that the pattern of this world holds only empty promises, broken hearts, and shattered lives.    

Thankfully, so thankfully, by God’s grace, we have been given the mind of Christ(1 Cor 2:16), and our lives can be transformed by focusing on Him (more on how to do that next devotion).   As we face every choice in all the areas of life—financial, social, spiritual, relational, recreational—we must decide whether will we conform or be transformed. 

Something or someone will shape you today.  Will it be a selfish world or your wonderful Savior?

You choose.

 

 

Living Sacrifices

“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”  Romans 12:1

Pastor Rick Warren put it best—“The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar.”  If you’re nodding in agreement, join the crowd of Christians who often find ourselves feeling our way away from submission to God.  We realize God’s great mercy and we respond by saying, “I’m all yours!” but when the stones get sharp and the fire gets hot, we head back down. Sometimes it seems easier and more exciting to do what feels good right then or to act impulsively rather than wait without worry or trust through trial, so we slink over the edge and scurry away from surrender.

The good news is that while we may not care for creepy crawly things, God is not scared of them.  In fact, He embraces them.  He “knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust…Like a father to his children, [God] is tender and compassionate to those who fear him”(Ps 103:14,13). Perhaps this is one reason God designated in the Old Testament that the same sacrifice (one young lamb, two quarts of flour, and one quart of olive oil) be offered to Him  every day—twice a day(Num 28:3-4).  Morning and evening, over and over and over, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, God’s people placed the same thing on the same altar. 

The lamb was required to be perfect—“without defect” was the description, and through the perfect righteousness of Christ, we have been made “holy, blameless, and without blemish”(Eph 5:26-27).  The offering specified in the first covenant was a “pleasing aroma to God”(Num 28:6), and when we yield ourselves to Him, we are the “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God”(Rom 12:1).  The Old Testament offering wasn’t called a “regular offering” without reason, for our Heavenly Father knows we need to offer ourselves on a regular basis, and that we need to present the same the regular sacrifice—our lives.  Christ’s sacrifice for us was “once-and-done,” but the offering of ourselves to Him must be daily—or several times a day!

When you crawl off the altar, God’s grace lets you get climb back on

Be completely His—again.