As I was chewing on this passage this morning, I focused in on two words, conformed and transformed. Both of these are actually strong commands: DO NOT BE CONFORMED to the pattern of this world, but BE TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind. But both of them are also passive. In other words, we are not the ones doing the action, it is being done to us. A couple of weeks ago, my wife blessed me with a Dr. Pepper cake. Yes, it was just as good as it sounds. It was a bundt cake. When she poured the batter into the bundt pan, it was being conformed to the pan. God doesn't want us to be like that. That is an easy path which requires nothing from us.
On the other hand, a butterfly did not become a butterfly through such an easy process. A butterfly starts out as a caterpillar. The caterpillar one day wraps itself up in a cocoon, and undergoes, what I imagine to be a painful process of transformation. The crazy part of this is that the caterpillar is not transforming itself, but it is being transformed. This is what God is calling us to. So what role do we play in this non-conforming transformation? We offer ourselves.
This passage is such a wonderful illustration of how Spiritual Formation works. We offer ourselves to God in surrender, we make ourselves available to him through the cocoon of spiritual practices such as Lectio Divina, Prayer, Fasting, Silence, and Study, and he meets us there to do more of his transforming work in us. And it really is not an option, as Paul is strongly commanding us. Because if we boil it all down, we are either being conformed to this world, or we are being transformed into a person who looks more and more like Jesus. There really is no in between; it is one or the other. So which is it for you?
Your mind will only be renewed if you allow God to work on you. You have to meet him. That's it. Just show up to pray, to read, to meditate on him, and allow him to do the renewing of your mind. It will hurt, as you see what he wants from you and what you need to deal with, but in the end, it is pleasing to God. Be transformed today.
Gary
I really do love this idea of Spiritual Formation and how it affects the whole person. Transformation is a painful process, you and Paul are right, but I think that in order for us to wholly accept the cross, we need to go through the pain. The Psalmist wrote "weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning". I know that I have been through so much, but God is bigger than everything I suffer. It will all be worth it in the end when I get to see His face.
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