Being Transformed

Romans 12:2 has an interesting perspective that I like to remind myself of from time to time. The NLT version reads like this:

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

In essence, its impossible to transform your life until you transform your mind. There was a song that came out a few years ago called "Change Your Mind" by Sister Hazel. The words simply went

"If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind..."

Do you ever look in the mirror and see someone you don't recognize. Maybe you look at yourself and realize the hope you used to have is gone. Maybe the happiness is no longer there. Maybe, just maybe, you want to be somebody else.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says "If you are in Christ you were made new." Obviously, after you give your life to Christ, you are a new creature. People see you emerge from your watery tomb and see a soaking wet, clean and pure creature.

You now have the name of Christian. You now have the hope you did not have before.

Your identity is new, yes. But what about your mind? When you think like you used to think before you gave your life over to Christ, chances are you will begin to act like that once again.

So be transformed, from the inside out. If the inside of your home is dirty, you don't fix that by raking the leaves and cleaning out the gutters outside. You clean the inside. My favorite Max Lucado illustration was always the one where he talked about how he went on vacation and the chest freezer in his garage blew a fuse, and all of the meat and food inside spoiled. He asked "How do I clean the freezer?", and obviously, if you just cleaned the outside of it, it would do no good.

Romans 12:2 does say: "let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think," and that's how we truly become new. But the part at the end of the verse is even more exciting:

"Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

When we achieve that threshold of renewing our mind, wanting to live like Christ, THEN He's going to let us in on what He has planned for us. He realizes that until we can change our minds into the mind of a Christian, we won't be able to comprehend His plans for us. And His will is always good, pleasing, and perfect.