Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
– Romans 12:2
When I was a kid our family would go to the beach every few years. I loved playing in the ocean on a boogie board or with a snorkel. And then I’d look up and realize I was a hundred yards further down the beach than where I started. I had been casually enjoying myself and the current had incrementally, gently moved me out of alignment with my parents. This is what it looks like to “be conformed” to the world. In order to stay in sight of them, in line with them, it took vigilance and effort even as I was having fun. This is what it looks like to participate in the transformation God is working in us.
Every person in the world is either being conformed to the world or transformed by Christ. There is no neutral. None of us is treading water–we are swimming against the current of the world or we are being carried along by it. “The world” refers to the fallen state of the world, the bent of the world away from God. So when Paul says “conformed” he means we are being shaped by this, influenced by it, we fall in line with it subconsciously. It isn’t always (often) aggressive or loud, but it moves away from the heart of Jesus and the truth of his word.
So, transformation looks like constant, ongoing, vigilant attachment to Christ through prayer, through his word, in fellowship with his people in the church (often the voices God uses to say, “you’re drifting!”). But be encouraged! Notice that Paul says “be transformed,” not “transform yourself.” We are vigilant and give our all, but we do so in total dependance on the mercies of God. And as we live faithfully he transforms us.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.
