A Message of Hope

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12: 2
How do we become transformed?  Paul tells the Romans to renew their minds.  But how and why?  First, Paul responds to the unasked question of why transform?  He just told the Romans to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God as their true and proper worship (Romans 12:1).  The why of transformation has to do with his first comment in verse 2.  Our natural state as people is to conform to the world.  We are naturally conformists.  We fit into our culture, society, and families.  Outcasts are just that; cast out from their social group.  In Greek, the words conform imply fitting into a pattern.  Paul is telling us not to fit into the worldly pattern any more.
So what is a worldly pattern?  Simply, these are the things that separate us from God.  It is the opposite of giving ourselves as living sacrifices.  It is seeking our good instead of the good of others.  It is falling into the materialism trap that says we need more and better instead of being content with whatever God blesses us with.  It is living as the world lives without God.
            So what does a transformed life look like?  How do we know what our renewed minds should be?  Again, a focus on God is key.  Read the rest of Romans 12.  Paul describes what our lives should be like in their renewed state.  My Bible titles the section love in action.  I like that summation of our renewed lives.  We become love in action to the world.
We concluded last week with Philippians 2, and that is where this week we will find Paul explaining again what our renewed minds need to become.  Here in the letter to the Philippians, Paul says “become like Jesus.”  As we consider our spiritual growth, let’s seek to follow Paul’s advice and become like Jesus.  That should lead us back to the true and proper worship of a sacrificial life.
Scripture:  Philippians 2: 1-18