How to Be Transformed
It’s easy to read this verse and interpret it as, “don’t be worldly, be Godly”. There are dozens of self-help books to help you “become a better person”, whatever that means. I embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior in middle school, and spent much of my high school years interpreting the checklist of “good” and “bad” I was supposed to follow. Although I believed that my salvation did not depend on my behavior, I still felt like I needed some process of self-imposed behavior modification in order to become a “better” Christian.
The “do not conform to the pattern of this world” piece if the verse is critical. As Christians, we should be different. We should not be blown about by the winds of our culture. What the verse says, however, is “be transformed”, not “transform yourself”. We can’t be good enough to save ourselves for eternity, so why would we think we could transform our behavior without God?
We are to “be transformed” [by God] through the renewing of our mind. This doesn’t mean we get to sit back and wait for God to fix us. Only in pursuing Him, renewing our mind through prayer, biblical teaching & study, mentorship relationships, and similar pursuits can we focus our heart and mind on God and be changed through the Holy Spirit within us.
My big application of this verse is that neither a pursuit of legalistic morality nor passive laziness can transform people to the image of Christ. Our job is to pursue Him, and in pursuing Him, our mind will be renewed, and we will become more like Him.
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