Tag: Transformation

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Good!

Diane1 knew her young child Ashley2 had a hearing problem. To sudden noises, Ashley often had no jump response—no sudden muscle reflex—and she would act out in exasperation at not understanding or being understood. Strong willed by nature, Ashley was also generally less than cooperative with auditory testing, which added to the overall frustration. When finally an audiologist was able to diagnose Ashley as having moderate to severe hearing loss, Diane, to the doctor’s surprise, rejoiced, “Good! Now I know what we’re dealing with. Now we have something to work with.” What a healthy, positive response!

Our spiritual journey, likewise, has its own frustrations. Paul’s symptoms reflect ours: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”3 Can you help me, Doc? Is there a diagnosis, so we can have something to work with? Yes, in fact, there is: it is called, “the flesh,” or in this context, our “sin nature.” It is the natural human inclination toward sin. Think of it as the self-willed part of us that wants to live life on our terms and not God’s. And in his letters to the Romans and the Galatians, especially, Paul exposes the flesh for what it is . . . 

“I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.”4 Good! Now I know what I’m dealing with.

“The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”5 Good! Now I know the futility of spiritual self-reliance.

“The works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”6 Good! Now I can trace these ominous symptoms to their fleshy root.

“The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.”7 Good! The choice is clear—my flesh, or God’s Spirit.

It is good to come to the truth of a matter, even if only to understand more clearly our situation. Then where do we go from here? How do we move from futile to fruitful? We’ll discuss this next time. For now, rejoice in the freedom of knowing we cannot live the Christian life by our own wisdom or in our own power. God has a better, freer way forward. See you next week.

Father, thank you for your Word; it is wisdom and power, rest and joy. Send your Spirit to us, your church, and lead us ever in your way and always for your glory. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1, 2 This name is changed for privacy purposes.
3 Romans 7:18-19 ESV
4 Romans 7:18 ESV
5 Romans 8:7 ESV
6 Galatians 5:19-21 ESV
7 Galatians 5:17 ESV

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God’s Timeless Pursuit of Our Transformation

SpaceX, the aerospace pioneer, went public last week, raising tens of billions of dollars through its initial public offering (IPO). Its progenitor, Elon Musk, redefines innovation, having founded Tesla, the electric car company, while, “Oh, by the way,” pioneering reusable rockets in his spare time. He envisions orbiting AI data centers, a city on Mars, and who knows what else this ideator-extraordinaire may have dreamed up while shaving this morning. Yet everything man explores, God has made, for “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of [man] is to search things out.”1 We dispatch our exploratory rovers to “the red planet”; yet it is “[God] who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night.”2

Then as man looks to the heavens to search out what God has established, God in His heavens pursues His vision for us, His beloved on Earth: to make us ever more like His Son, through whom “all things were made.”3 God’s pursuit of our transformation into Jesus’ image is firmly established from beginning to end. His plan is purposed from the past: “For those whom [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”4 He pursues His vision in the present: “We . . . are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”5 And this He promises for the future: “When [Christ] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”6 God’s vision is clear, His sights are set, and our transformation is certain.

Then what must we do? First, trust and know this: “God . . . works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”7 It is a lifelong process. Even if we don’t see transformation right away or at the pace we’d prefer, the fact remains, God is at work in us. Then in the confidence of His faithfulness, we rest and rejoice—rest in the fact that God is doing in us what we cannot do ourselves, and rejoice in our transformation, God’s ongoing expression of love for us. This is His vision; this is our life. So good.

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. . . The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV

Father, thank you for your eternal wisdom and purpose. Thank you for raising us to ever-increasing glory, the image of your Son. Inspire us to trust, rest, rejoice and thrive in such amazing grace. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Proverbs 25:2 ESV
2 Amos 5:8 ESV
3 John 1:3 NIV
4 Romans 8:29 ESV
5 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
6 1 John 3:2 ESV
7 Philippians 2:13 ESV

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The Resolution of a Resolute God

We’re not going to talk about it. Nope. We’re not going to use this space to bemoan the fact we’re not good at keeping New Year’s resolutions. Though we lose our resolve within months, days, or perhaps hours, we won’t bring it up here, not even a mention. Huh-uh. No siree! After all, we’re after self-improvement, right? It’s “new year, new you” time! (Again.) Surely, we’ll be better versions of ourselves when the calendar page turns.

All kidding aside, the truth is, we can do better. It is a matter of knowing and embracing what is already true about God and His work in us. So, let’s start by dropping “new year, new you” and embracing “in Christ, forever new,” for Paul teaches us, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”1 This newness in Christ never fades; it is as fresh as the dawning of each newly created day, for we live safely and securely in Him who always was and will always be. Contemplate this reality. Receive this gift. Celebrate this truth.

Yet if God is changing us, why still our shortfalls? Why do we keep repeating the same mistakes? Once again, it comes down to knowing what is true, for newness in Christ is only the beginning of an entire lifetime of transformation. It is a process of love. The Spirit of God is constantly at work in us, not merely that we would clear the low bar of altered outward behavior, but that we will soar to the heights of Christlikeness in our inner being. Paul again, “We all . . . are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”2 This is not our limited and fickle version of self-improvement; it is God’s steady and purposeful improvement of self. It is His relentless craftsmanship in us, for we live in the certainty that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”3

Our best resolution for change, then, is to trust God’s resolute purpose to change us. “The one who calls you is faithful,” writes Paul, “and he will do it.”4 So in this comfort and joy, draw near to Him in prayer and His Word, for He works through these to bring about in us the change He promises, the change we seek, change that lasts.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.5

1 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV, emphasis added
2 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
3 Philippians 1:6-7 ESV
4 1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV
5 Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV