Be Transformed

Do not conform 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)

Have you ever wished there was an easier way to do something?

For instance, losing weight.

I honestly wish there was a way to lose weight without actually having to do the work of losing weight—change my food choices, exercise, and proper sleep. Why can’t I just accomplish my weight loss goal simply by renewing my mind, as Paul speaks of in our key verse today?

Why do I have to suffer through carrots and all their crunchy grossness just so the scale doesn’t ask one of me to step off? And please don’t get me started on cooked carrots! They’re just mushy grossness.

As someone who has always struggled with their weight and my perception of who I am as a person because of my weight, I would be the first to sign up for any program promising me I could transform my physical being just by renewing my mind! Honey, I would renew my mind all the livelong day while feasting on potato sticks (french fries) instead of carrot sticks and guzzling Coca Cola, thank you very much!

But what exactly would renewing my mind look like? Well, in regards to weight loss I suppose it would involve somehow convincing myself that carrots, as well as some other vegetables, taste good. However, that just isn’t true for me—I abhor the taste of carrots in any form—so renewing my mind wouldn’t work because I wouldn’t be filling my mind with indisputable truth and then allowing that truth to do the transformative work in my body.

Since we’re obviously not here for the purpose of weight loss, let’s look at what renewing our mind looks like as it applies to living out our faith as we await the return of Jesus Christ.

If anyone understood the importance of renewing our mind, it was Apostle Paul. We know that before Paul came to faith in Jesus Christ, he vehemently opposed any Jews who did believe in Jesus as the Messiah; and he was actually responsible for the imprisonment of many as well as the deaths of many. Yet, once Paul came to the same faith as those he was persecuting, he left behind who he was and what he once pursued and he pursued Jesus with that same zeal.

Stay with me…

The above example of renewing my mind to lose weight implies that I would have to renew my mind BEFORE I could achieve any transformation.  This is not so in regards to renewing our minds as Paul instructs.

You see, Paul renewed his mind AFTER he was transformed. The truth of Jesus did the transforming. He didn’t have to work at being transformed—Jesus did the work. This is still true for us today.  As soon as we profess our faith in Jesus Christ we are transformed in so many ways.

No longer are we a slave to sin and the wages of sin, which is death. We are transformed into a new creature because Jesus paid the price for our sins. We will never experience death.

No longer do we desire to conform to this world because we become aware of how broken it is and how separated we are from God. We are transformed to desire the day when we will dwell in the very presence of our Savior, who restored us to a right relationship with God.

No longer do we live to satisfy our flesh. Rather, we are transformed by the Holy Spirit living inside us that convicts us of our fleshly desires and helps us fight them.

If we are transformed by Jesus, why should we renew our minds?

How did Paul renew his mind? After all, he was just as human as you and I.

Let’s answer the last question first: Paul renewed his mind by focusing on the truth of Jesus Christ and the truth of his salvation through Jesus.

I believe every day he had to make the decision to focus on Jesus, even though he was already transformed by Him, because, like I said, he was just as human as you and I. In our humanness, we can receive a gift on our birthday and be so grateful for it, but as time moves on we have a tendency to be less enthralled with that gift because its newness has worn off.  The impact it made on us at the time we received it diminishes greatly the further we get away from that time.

I remember very vividly the day I decided I wanted to place my trust in Jesus and oh, the fire I had for Him even as a young girl, but that was a long time ago. Sadly, that fire to live as someone who has been transformed by the living Messiah is nothing but smoldering embers most days because I allow the physical pain of MS, or even memories of who I was or what happened in the past, to be my focus—not Jesus. Put another way, I focus on me.

Friend, it is enough to be transformed by Jesus but if we can renew our minds like Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:2, we will LIVE like we are transformed by Jesus. Thus, the answer to why we  should renew our minds. Not only is living like we are transformed by the Messiah good for us — Paul says that we will know God’s will for us — it is good for those who are watching us.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.”  If we’re telling someone that Jesus is good but we’re living like He isn’t, what message do you think they’ll hear? It won’t be the one we’re speaking.

The good news is we can start today to renew our minds by focusing on the truth of Jesus.  You won’t need to eat even one carrot (thank you, Jesus!).  All you need to do is feast (pun very much intended) on the Word of God.

Mangia, mangia!