I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2 NKJV
So back to the journey of our transformation. Have you ever looked at a caterpillar? It is not the cutest thing you’ve seen by no means. It is a “stubby, crawling land-based insect.” When we were deep in our sin, we were like the caterpillar crawling in our mess or the mess of others—just crawling right along, not caring about who we hurt, what we did, how we looked, or anything. It was all about me, me, me. What I wanted, what I needed.
The thing is that God did not create us to be like that. Just like the caterpillars are destined to be butterflies from birth, God created us for His glory to be His representatives here on earth. According to Romans 12:1 (MSG), God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering.
For transformation to occur we must do the following:
Give God our body as a living sacrifice. The word sacrifice is offering up our body to Christ alone. That means no more doing what I want with my body. Oops! (For me, it is constantly desiring to eat those things that are not healthy for me, like the sweet stuff.) We are not to adapt to the world around us.
Give God our mind. Our minds must refocus on the things of God. Once transformed, we have the mind of Christ. We now have a new attitude, new ideas. Philippians 4:8 says thinking on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of an excellent report. Stop thinking of what coulda or shoulda happened or negative thoughts that cause us to be anxious or fearful.
Give God our will. It is not all about us. We are a light on a hill in a world of darkness. We must put what we want aside and find out what God’s will is for each of us. God has something in mind, just for you! No one needs to tell you what it is. Pray and meditate on the Word of God. (Pick a Bible translation that works for you.) Once you have spent time in your intimate relationship with the Lord you will discover God’s perfect will for you. When you do, it will be good, pleasing, and perfect in His sight!
Transformation is not a simple process. The caterpillar must go into the cocoon before he becomes a beautiful butterfly. You are that butterfly flying in the security and freedom that only Christ Jesus can give you!
Thought for this week:
God’s will for me is perfect and pleasing in His sight!
Be who God called you to be!
If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and want to experience the transformation, please contact me. I would love to talk to you.
Transformation, Embracing the Journey