I had a t-shirt when I was in high school that I thought was really cool. (Whether it really was or not is a matter of debate, but either way I like the message on it.) It was black and it had cartoon drawings of a dozen or so really tough looking fish in very bright bold colors. They were all fish with big teeth – I remember a barracuda and a big shark. They were all swimming in the same direction as if they were a the biggest, toughest, meanest school of fish around. There was on other fish on the shirt – an Ixthus – more commonly known (thanks to Seinfeld) as a, “Jesus Fish.” That fish was in the midst of all the others, but swimming in the opposite direction. On the back, across the shoulders were large words: Go Against the Flow. In smaller letters below that it said simply, “Rom. 12:2.”
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of you mind, . . .”
I want to be transformed. I want my thinking, my attitude, my priorities, even my purpose to go through a metamorphosis. Too often I find myself thinking in patterns that are too like the world’s. “Manipulate. Get your way. Do what is expedient. Do what feels good. Indulge. Take revenge.” That’s the way of our sinful nature. But as people who are in awe of what God has done for us, we want to change – better: to be changed – so that the way we think and act reflects our salvation.
How do we do that?
Technically, WE don’t. It says to “be transformed” not to “transform yourself.” We are not able to transform ourselves. We need a power at work in our lives that changes the way we think; that changes us. Where can we find that kind of power?
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation . . .” (Romans 1:16)
Jesus’ death and resurrection is God’s power to transform us. It transforms us from being dead in trespasses and sins to being alive in Christ. It transforms us from being enemies of God to being Children of God. It transforms us from darkness to light. It transforms us from being sinful to being holy.
Living that transformation goes against the flow of this world. As you read the rest of chapter 12 (and even chapters 13, 14 and part of 15) Paul describes that transformation in terms of our outward behavior. We want to display the change that Jesus makes in us. To do that we need to stay connected to the power God gives to change us in his Word, in our Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper.
As you read the rest of Romans keep that in mind. These are changes that are wrought by the power of the Gospel – because Jesus has intervened in our lives to rescue us from the futility and self destruction of our old lives. Now, we are being transformed.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the transformation you are working in my life. Sometimes I still want to live in old patterns that are more like the world than like you, fill me with the power of the Jesus’ death and resurrection and keep transforming me! Help me to reflect your forgiveness and love, as well as your transformational power, to people around me for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of you mind, . . .”
I want to be transformed. I want my thinking, my attitude, my priorities, even my purpose to go through a metamorphosis. Too often I find myself thinking in patterns that are too like the world’s. “Manipulate. Get your way. Do what is expedient. Do what feels good. Indulge. Take revenge.” That’s the way of our sinful nature. But as people who are in awe of what God has done for us, we want to change – better: to be changed – so that the way we think and act reflects our salvation.
How do we do that?
Technically, WE don’t. It says to “be transformed” not to “transform yourself.” We are not able to transform ourselves. We need a power at work in our lives that changes the way we think; that changes us. Where can we find that kind of power?
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation . . .” (Romans 1:16)
Jesus’ death and resurrection is God’s power to transform us. It transforms us from being dead in trespasses and sins to being alive in Christ. It transforms us from being enemies of God to being Children of God. It transforms us from darkness to light. It transforms us from being sinful to being holy.
Living that transformation goes against the flow of this world. As you read the rest of chapter 12 (and even chapters 13, 14 and part of 15) Paul describes that transformation in terms of our outward behavior. We want to display the change that Jesus makes in us. To do that we need to stay connected to the power God gives to change us in his Word, in our Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper.
As you read the rest of Romans keep that in mind. These are changes that are wrought by the power of the Gospel – because Jesus has intervened in our lives to rescue us from the futility and self destruction of our old lives. Now, we are being transformed.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the transformation you are working in my life. Sometimes I still want to live in old patterns that are more like the world than like you, fill me with the power of the Jesus’ death and resurrection and keep transforming me! Help me to reflect your forgiveness and love, as well as your transformational power, to people around me for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
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