It is my prayer that some day the Spirit of God will arrest each of our hearts in such a way that, in all things, we exemplified Christ. This means that even the small things we assume are a fixed part of our personalities, the faults we assume we cannot change—will be transformed. Our existence as Christians consists in continually being “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2).
Do you want your actions to change?
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Do you want to see victory in areas of sin?
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Do you want to grow in kindness, to show more patience?
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Do you want to KNOW Christ and the power of His resurrection?
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Francis Chan tells the story of a couple who “have been foster parents to thirty-two children and have adopted sixteen.”[1] He begins with this remarkable fact to set us up. He hopes that we will marvel at their faith, and assume that they have always been this way.
No one does great things for God in their own strength. No one pleases God apart from the working of His Holy Spirit. This faith filled couple, Chan wrote, was once bent on their own evil desires. “He was abusive and she prayed regularly that he would die.”[2] But, “God loves to take people in the worst of situations and transform them by His Spirit.”[3]
This very fact, that God acts through His Spirit to transform people, should bring praise to our lips. I am thankful, deeply grateful; that I am not the man I was yesterday. My hope is that I will be a different man tomorrow. My hope today is that, through the working of the Holy Spirit, I will be transformed by the renewing of my mind.
If we do not grow we die, because growth is a necessary part of life. If we are not being transformed we are dying, because growth is an innate part of the Christian life. That is, unless we come to believe we are as good as we could be, as kind as we could be, and perfectly patient at all times. None of us is there. We are all in process, all growing, all being transformed. “[W]e, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2Cor. 3:18).
Our goal is not human goodness, not human kindness, and not human patience. If you are like me and long for the supernatural grace to do remarkable things, then, like me, you need more and more of the Holy Spirit. Perfection is the goal. This side of heaven it is an unattainable goal. Because of this He extends grace. But, it is this very deep longing, to be perfected, glorified, that makes the Holy Spirit of God essential to the Christian Life.
[1] Pg. 60.
[2] Pg. 60.
[3] Pg. 60.
I totally agree with what you said about settling for human goodness, kindness & patience. The Christian life is a supernatural one. I think about Solomon who prayed and received supernatural wisdom. If he had settled for regular wisdom, wisdom from experience, he would not have been the king he was. Great post!