This coming week, our students are memorizing Romans 12:2 which states, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing or your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is -- His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Two words stand out to me in this verse: conform and transformed. To be conformed means to become similar to. It is easy for us to conform to the patterns of this world. Due to our sin nature, conforming to these patterns is our default. We conform without even thinking about it or trying to do it. This verse is calling us to go against that default, that nature. I don’t think that many believers understand the depth of this call. We are not to look anything like the world, which brings us to the second word, transformed.
We are called to be transformed. The word translated transformed is connected to the word metamorphosis. Like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly, we are called to become something completely different from what our sin nature leads us to be.
Too many believers today are content to be conformed to the patterns of the world, and the general expectation is that our children will also conform to worldly patterns. But, what if it is possible to live truly transformed lives? What if we encouraged young and old alike to look different from the world around us, to look like Christ? How would our schools and churches, workplaces and neighborhoods be different? How would our world change?
As I look around, I see where conforming to the patterns of this world has gotten us. I see the hurt, the brokenness, and the pain, and I want it to different. I long for the healing and wholeness that Christ offers, and I want our children to experience that as early as possible so that they can live transformed lives that lead to beauty instead of ashes.