Butterfly Or Caterpillar? Transforming vs Conforming

Romans 12:2 (KJV) ~ And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

I think the biggest blessing comes to us when we are  asked this question, “Do you really know that you are a child of God?” Now the enormity of that statement did not sink in right away. I had not perceived it in my spirit. My position was the same as that of King David, who before he had a revelation, before he perceived that he was king, never really knew the enormity of what it meant that he was a King. The Bible says in 1 Chronicles 14:2 (KJV), “And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel , for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel .” The revelation had dropped from his head to his heart. When I understood and perceived that I was a child of God, it was then, and only then, that I began to look at things differently. My old mindset was freed from the bondage of its restrictions.  

We are all going to choose one way or another. We are either going to be conformed into what people, your job, your hobby, your church (pick whatever obsession you have), want you to be like or we will be transformed, but transformation is a process that is very different than conforming. Conforming means that you, by your own will, fashion yourself to be like the rest, whereas being transformed by the renewing or our mind means that we allow Christ's Holy Spirit to change our way of thinking and believing. We are in the process of becoming what we are to be according to His will and good pleasure. He changes us from the inside out!!! That is HUGE! In conforming yourself, your walk is very shallow if even existant, but in transformation we are set free to be who God chose us to be...We take on His DNA!

In the film, The Matrix, there is an amazing fight scene between Morpheus and Neo. Morpheus is training Neo to learn to fight, but there is much more at stake than just fighting. Morpheus says to Neo, “I can only show you the door; it is up to you to enter in. You are faster than that. Don’t just think you are, know you are. Free your mind!” 

Now, truthfully, the only freedom we should allow in our mind is the freedom that comes from genuine faith, not works, or doing, or even self-becoming. You see the world wants us to embrace it's standard and to free our minds to be what it wants us to be and drop preconceived notions...especially those of faith in Christ. The enemy of our soul wants us to free our minds to take on a worldly, selfish state of mind, body, and spirit that has nothing to do with God's Holy Spirit transforming us into His likeness. Our flesh wants us to open our minds to experiencing new thrills even to the extreme point of FOOLISHNESS! Somehow we begin to believe that the next thrill be will the ultimate experience and again we end up needing something else to thrill us. That next thing can lead to a premature death, disfigurement, or disillusionment, and depression rather than experiencing the real joy walking with the living God and enjoying our salvation experience.

Just because those of us with common sense realize thrill-seeking is a pointless endeavor does that mean that we have accustomed ourselves to expect less from life, even failure? For many people it has been the only thing that they have ever known. Can we be trapped in mindsets? Do we fall into the trap of thinking that God can use everyone else but me? 

What is needed in order to renew our minds to be more like Him? We must meditate on the word of God, and spend time before the Lord in prayer for wisdom and to know Him more, for the Bible says in Colossians 2:3 (KJV), “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. When we allow the word of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit to change us, to penetrate our minds and our hearts so we can have a more positive outlook, then no longer will we be clothed in inferiority complexes, but rather we will be clothed in the power of the Lord. As we daily let the word of God change us, we will grow in courage and boldness, and be more confident in our everyday lives. We will no longer just linger on the peripheral of things, but will enter into the fullness of what God has for us. The door of wisdom and knowledge is before us and we enter through the Gate, who is Jesus Christ.

 For the Bible says in John 8:32 (NIV), “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. As we trust in Jesus, the bondage will be broken and our minds will be free to know more about Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as David perceived in his mind and heart that he was a King, so we will, by the help of the Holy Spirit, not just think we are a child of God, but we will know we are! Then we will learn to live in the fullness of that amazing revelation. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:17 (KJV), “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”; to know that you ARE A CHILD OF THE LIVING GOD! 

See you next blog,
Ted