A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Bill Truby)
Scripture for the Day – April 21, 2020
Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Maybe you remember this cute little story….A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, ‘I’m drawing God.’ The teacher paused and said, ‘But no one knows what God looks like.’ Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, ‘They will in a minute.’ We chuckle at this because children do say the darndest things! Yet, there seems to be an element of truth in such sayings that makes us think. Here’s my thought on it.
Mankind has always tried to paint a picture of God. Great artists have done it – like Michelangelo and Giovanni. But I wonder if each of us tries to create God in our image. Are we guilty of trying to have God conform to our way of acting, thinking, and being?
Romans 12:2 says this: Do not be conformed 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.
The message is very simple here: Are we transforming our lives to conform to what God wants us to be – Or are we asking God to conform to what we want Him to be? Philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti once wrote, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
We can only conform based on our knowledge of what we are trying to conform to. If I am trying to conform to the standards of my community, I need to read and adhere to the HOA guidelines. If I want to conform to the group I hang with, I need to dress accordingly – and learn their language and expectations. Putting these ideas together, if I am going to conform to the image of Christ and God’s ways, I need to read His Word (Study to show myself approved 2 Tim 2:15), wear the right clothes (put on the Lord Jesus Christ and the armor of God Eph. 6: 10-18), and live like He wants (in Him I will live and move and have my being. (Acts 17:28)
We are all conforming to something or someone or some standards. I hope your choice of conformity is to the Bible, which is infallible, and to the God of the Bible, who is eternal, and our Savior Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever! (Heb. 13:8)
