Don't just conform transform Pat's View: Inspirational stories

Download Podcast

Transformed…the word brings a smile to my face. The first picture that comes to my mind is that of a dirty, ragged Cinderella. I can picture her pitiful, ash smudged and tear tracked face suddenly grow radiant as she is transformed into a beautiful princess. Can you see it too? 
Only a Fairy Tale. But Wait, that’s a fairy tale and fairy tales only exist in storybooks! And besides that, I just described conformity not transformation!!
All she had was new clothes and a great pair of shoes. A new outfit can go a long ways toward making you feel better, but it can’t transform you! Conformity copies and imitates to make you feel accepted, valued and included. Conformity changes the look, the opinion and the appetite to camouflage the darkness inside. It is the enemy of transformation because it is rooted in deception.
Romans 12:2 NIV 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. 

Don't conform, transform.
Transform…transform by renewing your mind.

The word used in Romans 12:2 is metamorphoó, which is closely related to metamorphosis.  The butterfly is one of the most amazing illustrations of metamorphosis. In this process the caterpillar is totally transformed into a butterfly. 
 
Just ask any preschooler, that has read “The Hungry Caterpillar", and they can tell you how the butterfly egg hatches into a hungry caterpillar.  They know it eats and eats and eats. And, you know that too if you have ever had caterpillars on a bush at your house. And, because it eats so much, the caterpillar grows very fast. The purpose of this stage is growth.
I need to stop here to ask you, “Are you hungry for God’s Word?” If you’re not hungry something is wrong. It’s essential to your growth.
God has more in mind for you than just growth. God’s purpose is greater than just a fat caterpillar. He wants to move this creature to a place where it can be fruitful or reproduce. 
 
Next, the caterpillar spins a sack around its whole body and the pupa stage begins. In the pupa stage of development everything changes; its tissues, its legs, its organs--EVERYTHING. The changes that go on inside the strong sack like covering are mind (Pun intended.) boggling! The caterpillar literally dissolves into a rich fluid. This fluid contains the building blocks that are transformed into one of God’s most beautiful creatures.   
 
Pupil We get our English word pupil/student from the word pupa. Just as the pupa stage is the transformation stage for a butterfly, a believer must become a pupil or learner of God’s Word for transformation to take place. Make time in your schedule to be a serious student.
Wrap yourself in the cocoon of God’s presence and ask Him to guide your thinking and open your understanding. Students are looking for more than facts, their goal is wisdom that can be applied. Read or listen with an open heart; diligently studying, pondering and assimilating God’s Word. Pray over what you are learning. Ask God for revelation and inspiration. Look for “What is God saying to me?”  Write it down.  Ask; “How do I live this out?”  Assimilating and digesting Scripture means that the Bible is more than facts or seeds stored in a jar with the lid screwed on tight that you tuck in the back of your garage. God’s Word are bite sized nuggets that you mix with faith and digest so that it nourishes your mind, spirit and body. 
Although the butterfly you see on your bush is probably the same creature that was just recently eating all the leaves off somebodies favorite shrub, you’ll never see a butterfly munching its way across a leaf; because it doesn’t have a mouth that can chew. Its body has six long skinny legs that fold instead of 16 short, stubby ones that it crawled with as a caterpillar. It is totally changed