Christians, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
Strong words to Christians by the Apostle Paul. Why? What makes Paul’s urging so important? Let’s unpack the truth in this verse and the challenge to transformation will become clear.
First, conform means to be molded — like cookies made with a cookie cutter. Conformed people take on the shape of whatever the mold is. In this scenerio, it’s the ways of the world. We all know how corrupt the ways of the world have become; just about everything known to be evil is made legal, elevated, idolized and generally accepted by the world. That is the mold Paul is warning Christians to avoid.
To be transformed is to be changed – to have an outward change that reflects an inner reality after being with someone. That Someone in the Christian’s realm is God.
Why is it important for a Christian to reflect God and not the world? One reason is because we are made in His image. Another reason is so that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
How is this done? By the renewing of our minds which means the outward change that people see, first begins with an inward change of heart that only God sees. Why is this necessary in a Christian’s life? It is necessary in order for a believer to begin to know God’s will and His desire for our lives. If a person does not surrender to God and be transformed by the renewing of the mind, he won’t get to the place of knowing God’s will. It would be like a student going to college to learn, but there is not a professor to teach.
Paul is presenting two choices Christians can make: either the way of the conformed world and become like a cookie experiencing the ‘best’ this world has to offer at the expense of missing God’s best. To be conformed to this world is to hang like tinsel on a Christmas tree in February.
The second choice is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. To surrender to God gives clarity to the purpose for your life, it brings joy and godly contentment, and the promised hope of eternal life. The importance of being transformed is good to know, but we must be diligent in pursuing the renewal of our minds. This transformation is necesssary in order to be the people God wants us to be in order to accomplish what He wants to accomplish.
We are bombarded with a myriad of choices in today’s world that can leave us with our minds swirling. Do we press 1 for English? Press 2 for main menu? Press 3 for electronics? Press 4 for pharmacy? Press 5 to repeat… With Paul’s message, we have just two options: choose the world or choose God.