A Life Worthy

Tag: Romans 12

  • One-a-Day Friday 5/16/14

    number 1Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:2).

    I want a running Director’s Commentary on my life.  You know, like when you buy a DVD, you can look in the “bonus features” section and watch the movie with the director talking over the action. He explains the back story, provides behind-the-scenes tidbits, and gives insight into why certain production decisions were made.

    I want the Holy Spirit to provide running commentary for me.  As I go through my day he can whisper in my ear—better yet, he can have an angel appear from time to time with a little scroll.  You know, something tangible, ‘cause I don’t always trust voices in my head.  Anyway, he can point out the Father’s will in every situation, and explain why things happen the way they do.  That would be good.

    While we’re at it, I want a pony.

    OK, this is odd.  I was composing the above in my head while driving home from work.  As I got to the part about the pony, I glanced to my right and saw…

    A pony.

    It was just standing there, by the side of the road, munching on some random flora.  I have driven this road twice a day every workday for eight years.  Never once have I seen a pony.  I attach no spiritual significance to this, other than proof that God has a sense of humor.

    And yet…

    I did not stop and collect the pony, partly because I don’t want a felony on my record, and partly because I really do not want a pony.  I was only pretending I wanted a pony.

    Which makes me wonder…do I really want the Holy Spirit speaking directly to me, passing me notes, or am I just pretending I do?  Do I really want to be responsible for knowing God’s will?  Because, frankly, not being sure of his will gives me a certain amount of wiggle room that I often exploit.

    This passage suggests to me that, as we allow God to put our minds back in whack through his Word and his Holy Spirit, we actually do get something akin to Director’s Commentary.  But as with any gift, we are responsible for how we use it.

    What do you say, Beloved?  Are you willing to accept the gift God offers?  Are you willing to be transformed and renewed, to be able to, “test and approve what God’s will is…”?  Because what he gives, you must use.

    Unless he gives you a pony.  A pony you may leave by the side of the road.

  • One-a-Day Thursday 5/15/14

    number 1Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).

    Not your heart?

    Nope.

    Your mind.

    Sure, God works in your heart too, but the transformation Paul is talking about here comes through your mind.

    What you think about.

    How you think about it.

    How you make your decisions.

    How you look at the world.

    In case you hadn’t noticed, we live in a sinful, broken world.  Growing up in it, surrounded by the messages that society puts out, well, it warps our minds.

    There it is, Beloved.  You have a warped mind.

    It’s kinda like putting on your friend’s eyeglasses.  Everything looks wrong, distorted, and out of whack.

    God wants to put you back in whack.  He wants to renew your mind.

    Some parts of the renewal are immediate, like taking off your friend’s glasses and putting on your own.  When you came to Christ, the Holy Spirit came to live within you, and certain things changed immediately.  You saw sin as bondage, for example, and wondered how you could ever have thought it was freedom.

    Other parts of the transformation take more time.  They’re like the caterpillar, quietly waiting in its cocoon, allowing God to work his will in his own way, in his own time.  God uses his word, day by day, little by little, to transform the way you think, the way you see the world around you.  He is gentle and patient, because your brain is a fragile little thing, and you’re of little use to him in a catatonic state.  But if you remain in the word, he will continue to work in you, until the butterfly is released.

    That’s an awful lot of metaphor for a Thursday.

    Rest today, Beloved.  Rest in the knowledge that he is a work in you, even now.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday 5/13/14

    number 1Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world… (Romans 12:2a).

    I know all about conforming—I teach middle school.

    These poor kids.  They so very much want to belong that they will wear the silliest clothes, listen to the lousiest music, and eat the nastiest snacks, just to be like everyone else.  The irony is, they think they’re the picture of bold individualism, when in fact they are poster children for the Clone Society.

    But they are children.

    We are not.

    Right?

    Everybody wants to belong.  It’s natural. It’s normal. It’s healthy.  The danger comes from what you want to belong to.  And what you’re willing to do to fit in.  This sinful, broken world is not worth belonging to.  These lost, dying people are not fit for emulating.

    Loving, yes.

    Conforming to, no.

    If we are going to stand for God in this place, if we’re going to reach people for Christ, we have to be willing to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.

    How do you conform to this world, Beloved?  In what areas do you go with the flow, try to fit in with the people around you?  Paul says, “Do not conform any longer…”  That means you have a choice.  You have the power to stand for God instead of falling in line.  Use it.

    Be a sore thumb for Christ today, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Monday 5/12/14

    number 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).

    The Jews offered a dead sacrifice.  They were, in a sense, fulfilling a contract, paying, “The wages of sin” that Paul talks about in Romans 6:23.  But we are not under that contract—that law.  We are under the covenant of grace.  We receive “The gift of God…eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” that comes in the second half of that verse.  So our sacrifice is a living sacrifice.  We offer ourselves.

    I mentioned on Saturday that I think I could die for Jesus if it came to that—if someone put a gun to my head and told me to deny him, or some such thing.  I’m sure that, under the same conditions, you would die for him as well.

    But we’re not called to die for him—not in that sense.

    We’re called to live for him.  And, some days, that can seem so much harder.

    One definition of worship is, “To offer God all that we are in response to all that he is.” I like that, because it implies that everything we do can be worship, if we do it for him.

    Will you worship him today, Beloved?  Will you offer your body—your life—to him, to do with as he pleases?  I don’t know what that will entail, but I know that it will bring you closer to your Lord.

    And it will bring him the glory he deserves.

    Not a bad way to start your week, hmm?