Good morning. It is a beautiful Saturday and I hope that you have plans to make the day great.
Have you ever gone to that place in a local carnival, usually called something like “The Fun House” and found yourself in a room walled with mirrors? These mirrors are bent, purposefully mishappen, in order to cause great distortion in your image. Some will make you look tall and thin, while others make you look short and heavy, and some make you look…weird. The key word is distortion, they make you look far different than you are intended to look.
That is some of what sin does to our lives. We, mankind, were created in the spiritual image of God, which is to say that we were created in spiritual perfection. When sin entered into the heart of mankind there was an immediate effect to disfigure the sinner. There was, through the work of sin, powerful distortion. When claimed by sin we no longer live in the spiritual image of God. Like the mirrors in the room at the carnival, sin distorts, and the result can be quite gruesome.
And yet, in spite of this terrible effect of sin, it is far from the end of the story. We are given, through the grace of God which comes to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the opportunity to be transformed back to the image God intends for His children.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.Romans 12:1-2
There is a problem in offering ourselves as a living sacrifice, and in the commanded process of transformation. The problem is that included in fundamental change is a level of pain. Change, at least when we are talking about change that occurs deep within us, is not a comfortable experience. However, it is an essential one.
In Philippians chapter 3 the apostle Paul tells us of the overwhelming value in knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord. He says that everything he once considered of great value he now considers foul garbage in comparison to being transformed into Christ-likeness. Then in Philippians 3:10-11 we read: I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
There is no suggestion that we do all we can to avoid the pain inherent to transformation. Rather, we are to understand that such pain is easily acceptable when we come to understand the incredible worth of Christlikeness.
There have been a great many surveys done to better understand the process of spiritual growth and transformation. The one thing that they all have in common is that the greatest level of growth and transformation occurs when we are experiencing a time of mourning and/or suffering. Naturally, God knows this. God allows pain in the process of growth and transformation because He knows the value it brings us. The key is to recognize what is happening and to give praise to God.
Praising God for times of pain, for suffering when we grieve and feel the weight of loss, is not usually the first response that comes to mind. But it is the correct response. It is the beneficial response. It is the response that will help to guide our thoughts and emotions and draw us nearer to our Lord.
If we stop to think of what our Savior went through in His personal life it may help us to understand some of what we are going through in our process to become more like Him. He was: hated, mistreated, lied to, lied about, rejected by those He loved, rejected by those who loved Him, persecuted, falsely accused, tortured, abandoned, separated from His Father, and He took the sins of the world upon Himself. All of this for us.
Jesus is worth it. Becoming increasingly like Him is worth it. …becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. It is so very much worth it!
Praise God for your growth today and for His transforming power in your life.
Vern