The Renewal

Romans 12:1-2

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. (Romans 12:2)

ONE OF THE MOST COMMON complaints against Christianity is its historical record. Catholics are blamed for atrocities during the Crusades, inquisitions during the Counter-Reformation, and forced conversions in the settling of the New World. Protestants are blamed for violence in the Thirty Years’ War, the Nazi movement, and the Ku Klux Klan. Jesus was responsible for none of these events, of course, and neither were Christians who followed his teachings closely. But the distortions stand out, and the entire faith is colored by them.

How were professing Christians able to commit such un-Christian acts? Their hearts were not transformed. They claimed a set of beliefs and were culturally Christian but didn’t resemble Christ. Regardless of what their mouths confessed, they followed the ways of the world.

Doctrine and beliefs are not in themselves transforming. If we want to be like Jesus and follow him, we will need to have our minds renewed. The gospel is much more than a behavior-modification program; it’s an inward renovation so dramatic that it is best described as a death and rebirth. Anything less leads to the same frustrations all religious people feel when they fall short of their high standards.

The transforming power of the gospel changes the way we see and think. It changes our perceptions of God, ourselves, other believers, nonbelievers, and even our enemies. It undoes our old agendas and gives us a new purpose. It erodes our old nature and fills our hearts with the nature of God. It rearranges our relationships in the most satisfying ways possible. But only if we let it.

So let it. Surrender your will daily to the power of the Spirit. Let God be salt and light to your soul so you can be salt and light to your world. Let go of the old, and live in the newness God promises.

{Father, transform me. You promise newness; take me on an adventure that makes all things in my life, including me, entirely new. Renovate my heart and mind to think, feel, and see in new ways. Amen.