Tag Archives: Transformation

The Soil of the Heart

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Jesus said that abundant growth is not only possible, but to be expected from ground that has been cultivated for God’s purposes. Our job is to prepare the soil of our heart to receive that growth. Paul knew how vital it is to press on toward this goal: “to present your bodies a holy and living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”(Romans 12:1) No, presenting ourselves in this manner won’t be the immediate fix we all long for, but rather a pushing forward; it’s what it means to live our life in a manner pleasing to Him.(Colossians 1:10)

Given the proper conditions, metamorphosis will just naturally continue on its course. Let’s think about the butterfly. What chance do you suppose it has of reverting once again to its original form—the caterpillar? Zero, right? Having undergone such transformation, it can never return to what it once was.

Making godly choices sets us on that same road. Early in the process there are lots of opportunities to slip back under the spell of the old self. But over time, as we experience degrees of transformation, the likelihood of that happening keeps diminishing. Consequently, the further we’re transformed, the more likely it will be to come to full fruition.

Seeds of Transformation

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Isn’t God’s plan of redemption incredible? In Him we enjoy all the advantages of absolute security. As the old hymn says, He is our refuge and our strength. But even so, we must not let it stop there, for the Lord has called us to even greater purpose—wholehearted submission to His will.

Such intentional commitment to Him demands that our life be squarely aimed at two very important targets: to serve Him in whatever capacity He desires, and to embrace spiritual growth through personal transformation. Dedication toward the pursuit of these goals provides the catalyst for bearing “much fruit.” And because these objectives are intended to compliment each other, we can’t be truly effective in one without the other.

Yet personal transformation is the key to serving God with a whole heart, so we must ask a very important question: What does it mean to be transformed? Is this the change that takes place instantaneously when we’re saved? Yes, in one very real sense it is, since being born again results in a dynamic transformation of our life. How could being brought from death to life—from the domain of darkness to being firmly planted in Christ’s kingdom—be anything but utterly transformational? Still, there’s a whole lot more to it than that.

Character the Goal

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Scripture makes it very clear that God is interested in something a whole lot deeper than the superficial change we tend to be most comfortable with. He wants to live His life in and through us, to bring us to a place of spiritual health and maturity where He can use our life to radically impact the world. And it’s impossible for Him to do this without first transforming our character through the renewing of our mind.

What does character have to do with it? Well, the definition of character largely answers that question. Character in the Greek means proof of genuineness, trustworthiness. It’s not surprising, then, to find it translated in at least one place as “proven character.”(Romans 5:3-4)

When the term character is used in Scripture, a great deal is revealed in regard to the condition of man’s heart. Character is that quality within which governs our response in any given instance or circumstance. It’s who we are at the deepest level of our being. In the end we always behave as our character dictates.

A weak character can’t help but succumb to temptation, sadly resulting in a never-ending cycle of bandaging up our sin, patch by cumbersome patch. But a character transformed through a life of godliness responds the very same way every time temptation surfaces: “Of course I won’t do that. That’s not who I am!” How would you rather live your life—on the verge of failure every time sin rears its ugly head, or benefiting from the much-needed help that godly moral fiber brings?

From Glory to Glory

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It can certainly be disheartening when we finally come to realize that our longed-for transformation doesn’t simply materialize overnight. When you stop to think about it, though, how could being transformed into God’s image be anything but a life-long process? This fact is clearly evident in mature and godly believers, in whose lives work still remains to be done.

Some use the term sanctification to describe this process (a much more accurate use of this word than thinking of it as earning our way toward becoming more righteous, and therefore more acceptable to God).

God has designed the process of transformation to take place in degrees over time. It’s what being changed from “glory to glory” means (2 Corinthians 3:17). And moving from one degree of change to the next makes it that much easier for transformation to progress the way God planned. That’s why we must guard against slipping back into sin when tempted. There’s not a person among us who is immune to falling into sin through the weakness of our flesh.

As we discussed earlier, sin stands at the head of a trail leading in the wrong direction. Once we’ve set ourselves on that badly chosen path, it takes some doing to get back to the place we were before heading there. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to stop and evaluate our progress, even though we may be convinced that we’re moving in the right direction.(2 Corinthians 10:13)  In so doing, we place ourselves in the advantageous position of taking every opportunity for God to continue His refining work.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Metamorphosis

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The miracle in the caterpillar’s cocoon is but a whisper of the dramatic unfolding of godly character—so foreign to our inherently self-willed nature—being fashioned in the human heart through the intervening power of God’s Spirit. Paul goes so far as to say we “are being transformed into [the Lord’s] image from glory to glory.”(2 Corinthians 3:17). What an incredible metamorphosis this must be! A mysterious process indeed; how can it even be possible? God knows!

Metamorphosis in our character is essentially the old self giving way to the new. Thinking back to what we’ve talked about regarding this issue of self-will, in Christ we now possess the power of choice in spite of our human condition. Being set free from the power of sin has set the stage to accomplish this.(Romans 6:6). Even though at times it may not feel like it, we have the power to choose to lay aside the old self by an act of our will, deciding instead to put on the new self.(Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10). But where does that leave us when we fail to perform perfectly? What does such failure say about genuine transformation in our heart?

True Change Not So Easy

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A big problem that seems to sap our motivation to change is the fact that our self-willed nature craves instant change: “Please give me patience, Lord, but give it to me now!” The uncomfortable truth is that, in most instances, hasty change is simply not the way God works out His plan for our lives. While on occasion God may choose to instantly change something in us, those of us who have been around for awhile know that this is the exception rather than the rule. And when change does not come quickly, we tend to lose hope that it ever will. But God has a purpose in allowing painful circumstances.

God wants to go deep within our nature to rebuild our character—a true change of heart. Often this is a process He can accomplish in no other way but through time and suffering.

How do you feel about yourself? Are you happy with who you are? Or do you sense the need for change in your inner person? Well, whether the need be subtle or dramatic, the transformation of our character is God’s goal for each and every one of us. Why? Because God has designed us for relationship, and the reality of the weakness of the flesh must be dealt with for our life in Him to be healthy.

Can Our Heart Change?

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Regarding to our nature, a big question remains: can a leopard change its spots? Is the heart (self) capable of genuine change? This seems like kind of a silly question given all we’ve talked about regarding our nature because we’ve already spent a lot of time establishing the fact that, with God’s help, we can change. Yet I think it’s a valid question. I can see how I truly have changed, initially through my born again experience and then more slowly over the many years since. But in many ways I’m the same person I’ve always been. I know I’m still that same old me because of what sporadically surfaces in my heart when confronted with something that challenges the self-will still residing at the deepest levels of my being.

Moreover, there seems to be a paradox in Scripture as to whether or not the heart can change. On the one hand there are passages such as: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”(Jeremiah 17:9) Here the heart appears to be stubborn to the point of being incapable of fundamental change. And in fact our flesh does seem to be precisely that way—controllable maybe, but not entirely changeable. Paul seems to agree that this is so in his teaching in Romans 7.

On the other hand, The Bible implies that we have the power to change our heart by our choices—for both good and bad.(Hebrews 3:12) And not only that, but Scripture also seems to imply that our heart can actually in a sense be pure.(2 Timothy 2:22)

Can both be true? I think they can. The changed lives of millions of Christians down through the centuries are proof that the heart can indeed change. But unfortunately, there are millions more whose attitudes and behavior shed doubt on it. What’s the difference between the two? Choice. Our choices, made in response to each opportunity presented to us in life, make all the difference.